


The Entertainer

by SilvorMoon



Series: Yu-Gi-Oh Heroes [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Ensemble Cast, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 128,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27112012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilvorMoon/pseuds/SilvorMoon
Summary: Ten years ago, Maiami City's greatest hero, The Entertainer, vanished in a flash of blue light. Now Yuuya, freshly graduated from hero school, is ready to take up his father's mantle. He's never really believed that his father could be dead, and now he's ready to start finding out what really happened that day, but his search for the truth might bring him some answers he isn't ready for.
Relationships: Hiiragi Yuzu/Sakaki Yuya
Series: Yu-Gi-Oh Heroes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1978927
Comments: 41
Kudos: 19





	1. New Jobs

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in the same universe as "Clause 214," but it's not necessary to have read one to understand the other. All you need to know is that S-levels are a measure of the "superpower" chemical in a person's blood which give a rough idea of how strong someone's superpowers are.

Yuuya stood at the base of the steps and fought to make his feet go any further. It wasn’t that it was an intimidating building - just your average government office, a boxy structure of golden stone, with a columned portico and a frieze of solemn-looking men to give it some gravitas. The bronze plaque above the double doors read, “Maiami City Office of Registry.” Judging by Yuuya’s reaction to it, the sign might as well have said, “Executioner’s Office.” He wiped his sweating hands on his pants and took a few steadying breaths, trying to slow his racing heart. 

Gongenzaka gave him what was probably meant to be a reassuring thump on the back. Delivered by one of his catcher’s-mitt hands, it was a wallop that would have sent him sprawling had not Yuzu grabbed Yuuya by the arm to steady him. 

“Don’t worry about a thing!” said Gongenzaka. “I, the man Gongenzaka, am right behind you!” 

Yuzu helped Yuuya sort himself out. She gave him a sweet smile. 

“Yeah, we’re both here with you,” she said. “It will only take a few minutes, and then we can go home and do something fun to celebrate.” 

Yuuya nodded and tried to smile. 

“Yeah,” he said. “It’ll be easy. We just have to fill out a few forms. After all we’ve been through, what’s a few forms, right?” 

His friends nodded. Today, the three of them had returned home after graduating from Heroic Academy. Tonight, they would celebrate at Yuuya’s house. His mom was making all his favorites, and Yuzu’s father, who was a surprisingly good cook, would be bringing a few other goodies. Along with a handpicked selection of friends and family, the three of them would spend the evening eating good food and hashing over their adventures at school. Yuuya was looking forward to a night of just being a normal teenager for a while, of enjoying himself with his friends and family, and falling asleep in his old familiar bed. 

But first, he had to do this. That stiffened his spine. If he wanted the party, he had to do the paperwork. He squared his shoulders and began marching up the stairs, and his friends fell into step at his sides. 

As he stepped through the door, he was hit by a blast of air conditioning, which carried a subtle scent that made him think of old paper, ink, and expensive cologne. People in suits, mostly gray, walked slowly from place to place, their shoes clacking on the polished tile floor. A receptionist, likewise dressed in gray, sat at a desk in the center of the lobby. She was eyeing them warily, as though she expected them to start shooting up the place. Perhaps she did. After all, a registry office like this probably contained valuable information, and some supervillain out there was bound to think of reasons for wanting it. Yuuya wondered if, behind the woman’s bland facade, there was some superpower waiting to be unleashed. The thought did not comfort him. 

Nevertheless, he made himself walk up to her and say, “We’re here to register hero names, please.” 

She adjusted her spectacles as though this were a very suspicious thing to want to do. Yuuya found himself trying to look innocent. 

“Name registrations are down that hall,” she said. “Office B-4 - second door on your right.” 

“Mine is going to be an inheritance,” said Yuuya. “Is that all right?” 

She glared at him as though she thought he’d withheld this information just to make her life more difficult. 

“That’s a different office,” she said, tone accusing. “Room B-13, further down and on your left.” 

“Thank you,” he said. He gave her a quick, polite bow before escaping to the relative safety of the hallway she’d indicated. 

“Guess we’re splitting up,” said Yuzu. 

“Just for a little while,” said Yuuya. He wasn’t sure whether he was trying to reassure her or himself. 

“That’s right,” said Gongenzaka heartily. “Don’t worry. We won’t leave without you.” 

Yuya had to smile a little at that. He knew without being told that if sorting out his inheritance took all night, Gongenzaka would sit in the lobby and wait uncomplainingly. 

They reached the entrance to office B-4. The door was open, and a young man with blond highlights and a dramatic red, black, and white costume was arguing loudly with the poor clerk. 

“You let me change my name last week!” he was saying. 

“Yes,” said the clerk patiently. “And the week before that, and again two weeks before that, and twice in the preceding month. Why don’t you keep the name you’ve got for a couple of months? See if you get used to it.” 

“This is outrageous! When I tell my father about this...!” 

Yuzu looked at Yuuya with a humorous lift to her eyebrows. She and Gongenzaka settled themselves on a bench that had apparently been put there for the purpose. Yuuya gave them a little wave and continued down the hall without them. 

At least no one was yelling in room B-13. The room was dead silent, other than the slight tapping of the clerk working at his computer. He barely looked up as Yuuya entered the room. 

“Um... hello?” said Yuuya. “Is this the right office to apply for a name inheritance?” 

“That’s right,” said the clerk. At least he sounded happier to see Yuuya than the receptionist had. Perhaps he’d been bored, sitting here by himself. “Come in and have a seat.” 

He indicated the chair across from his desk. Yuuya sat in it, and swivelled nervously back and forth. The clerk typed away at his keyboard for a bit. 

“Now, what name were you applying for?” he asked. 

Yuuya gulped. This was it. This was the moment when his life’s path would be set. If he backed out now, he could choose some other path - he could join the circus, maybe, or earn a living performing at children’s birthday parties, and avoid the whole ‘hero’ thing entirely. He could choose some other name. He didn’t _have_ to walk in his father’s shadow. If he chose some other name, he’d be admitting that the past was behind him and couldn’t be changed, and begin a new life without the specter of something that happened ten years ago hanging over him. 

“The Entertainer,” he said. 

The clerk looked up, shock written plainly across his features. Then his face relaxed into a small, sad smile. 

“Ahh,” he said. “Yes, I do remember you now. So, you’re taking up your father’s mantle? Good for you.” 

Yuuya mustered up a matching smile in return. “That’s right. I want to make him proud.” 

“Well, I’m proud to do what I can to help,” said the clerk. “If you’ll just show me your credentials, please...” 

Yuuya nodded and fished in his pocket for the correct paperwork. At least that part was easy - his ID, his shiny new superhero license, a copy of his birth certificate. He pushed them across the desk, and the clerk began examining them minutely while Yuuya kicked his feet back and forth and told himself he was fine. 

Names were important. Every professional hero knew this. A good superhero name told the world who you were, what you did, what you stood for. They were a practical way to help people find the kind of help they needed - after all, if what you needed was someone to protect your area from forest fires, you weren’t likely to send for someone who called himself Dragonbreath or The Bombardier. It was true, too, that a catchy name made you that little bit more marketable, and more likely to get endorsements from big companies, which was something many heroes needed if they weren’t independently wealthy and weren’t being sponsored by the government. In some cases, too, a name told the world something about your history. Powers tended to run in families, and so a name might be handed from parent to child when the parent was too worn to go on fighting. Some of the most famous names had been kept in the same family for six or seven generations. Because of this, there were a lot of rules about who could use what name and when. No two heroes could have the same name, for example. The matter of inheriting names was taken seriously, too. The rule was that if a hero died or vanished, or was permanently turned into something, the name they’d used would be held in trust for their family for up to twenty years. That was considered enough time for any children they had to grow up and decide if they wanted to follow in their parents’ footsteps. 

Yuuya’s father had been officially dead for ten years. For the last seven, Yuuya had been attending hero school, waiting for the day when he’d be issued his license and could take up the name that had been waiting for him. 

“All right, then,” said the clerk. He put Yuuya’s hero license into a machine and pushed a button. The machine hummed for a few seconds before spitting the card out again. The clerk passed it back to Yuuya. “There you are, all proper and official.” 

“Thank you!” said Yuuya. He cradled the card in his hands as though it were a precious relic. On the surface, it still looked the same, but the chip embedded in it would now identify him as The Entertainer to anyone who had the equipment to read it. With such a little gesture, the world had changed. Yesterday, Sakaki Yuushou had been The Entertainer. Now The Entertainer was Yuuya. Yuuya was proud to know he was carrying on his father’s work, and a little saddened that one more trace of his father’s existence had been wiped away. He had to fight the urge to cry. 

“Good luck to you,” said the clerk. “I know you’ll do our city proud.” 

He held out his hand, and Yuuya managed to take it without dropping his card on the floor and give it a firm shake. 

"I'll do my best," Yuuya promised. 

He walked out of the office feeling almost let down. There should have been something - a roll of thunder, a tremor in the earth, something to mark the change in the world. Just pocketing his updated license felt a bit of an anticlimax. 

Still, he cheered up when he left the room and found Yuzu and Gongenzaka out in the hall waiting for him as they'd promised. 

"Any trouble?" he asked. 

Yuzu flourished her ID card. "No problem! I researched names ahead of time, so I was sure I could get the one I wanted. 

Gongenzaka held up his card as well, looking proud. Yuuya grinned at him. Good old Gon-chan. He probably could have graduated and gotten his license years ago. There was no lower age limit on being a hero, so long as you could prove you had what it took, and his talent wasn't one of the more complex ones that took years of practice and study to master. Even so, while Yuzu was honing her fighting techniques and endlessly experimenting with the perfect playlists, and while Yuuya had been training on the trapeze and watching hours of circus recordings, Gongenzaka plodded along taking electives on first aid and mechanical repair, biding his time while he waited for his friends to graduate. Endless patience was one of his hallmarks, and Yuuya was deeply grateful to have such a loyal friend. 

"And you?" Yuzu asked. "Did you get what you came for?" 

Yuuya gave a single, decisive nod. "Mm-hm!" 

"Great!" said Yuzu. She flashed her sunshine smile. "That means we're really a team now!" 

Gongenzaka nodded his agreement, and Yuuya smiled back, feeling a warmth gather in his chest. That's right - they weren't just friends and schoolmates anymore. They were a real hero team, just like they had always promised each other they would be. 

_It's not just Dad's legacy I'm living up to. I'm carrying on my friends' dreams too!_

He remembered his father telling him once, "Remember, when you're standing in the spotlight and the audience is cheering for you, it isn't all about you. You give your performance to the audience, and they give their attention to you. It's an exchange between you and them. There can be no performance without an audience." He'd thought about that a lot in the years since his father had vanished. In the end, he'd decided that his father hadn't just been talking about putting on a show, although there was no one in the world, in Yuuya's opinion, better able to work a crowd. He'd been talking about the way you should live your life. He'd been telling Yuuya that he should never start thinking that the world revolved around him, but instead to remember that he always relied on other people for something, and should therefore be prepared to give back when he could. Right now, it was time for him to be there for his friends. 

"That's right," he said, feeling a grin spread across his face. "We're going to be the best heroes Maiami City has ever seen!" 

Gongenzaka clapped him on the shoulder, making his knees buckle. 

"So, ready to go back and start the celebrating?" he asked. 

Yuuya considered. 

"Do you know what I'd really like?" he said. "I'd like to get my costume on and make a patrol around the city. Nothing serious, just, you know, getting settled in. Getting a feel for things. Showing everybody that we're here and ready to get to work." 

Yuzu and Gongenzaka glanced at each other. Yuzu shrugged. 

"Sounds fun to me," said Yuzu. "All right, let's go for it!" 

"You can count on me," Gongenzaka agreed. 

"All right!" Yuuya cheered. "Let's go get suited up!" 

_Look out, Maiami City!_ he thought. _The Entertainer is back!_

* * *

Tskukikage moved slowly through the patterns of a kata. An outside observer might have almost believed that he wasn't moving at all, so gradual were the changes. Only someone prepared to sit and watch for several minutes would have noticed the swing of his wooden practice sword, the shifting of his stance, the delicate balance and precision. As simple as it looked, it took tremendous muscle control to hold himself in just the right position on each step of the journey. At the end of this exercise, he would be exhausted, and yet have hardly moved more than a few yards. It was a performance he always found deeply satisfying. 

_Patience. Precision. Control. Stealth. Resistance._ He repeated the mantra in his head as he moved. Those were his watchwords, now and always. 

So deep was he in his semi-trance that when a voice in his ear shouted, "Oi, Brother! Wake up!" he didn't even flinch. Instead, like a film going from slow-motion to full speed, he completed a sweep of his sword and planted his feet in a new position. Only when he had finished that step in his form did he raise his head. 

"Hello, Brother," he said to his twin. "What makes you decide to interrupt my practice today?" 

"Father wants us," said Hikage. His eyes were sparkling with anticipation. "He says he has a mission for us." 

Tsukikage smiled too. He adored his brother, and wanted hm to be happy, and nothing made Hikage happier than having a mission to fulfill. 

"Let's not waste time, then," said Tsukikage. 

With a speed that would have surprised someone who had been watching his slow-motion performance, he broke into a run. Hikage laughed and sprinted after him. The two of them raced through the estate's training grounds, scarcely disturbing the dust as they blurred across the landscape. This was an ancient place, training ground for generations of ninja warriors, and they both knew it like they knew the sound of each other's voice. Tsukikage could have run anywhere on the grounds with his eyes closed, and sometimes had, often just for the fun of proving he could do it. 

Now, though, there was reason to hurry. Their father was the master of this place. It was he who trained and directed his own small private army of nieces, nephews, assorted young cousins, and of course, his twin sons. As their father, he commanded their loyalty and affection. As their master, he commanded their obedience. They reached the complex's main building and found him where they'd known he would be, in the old dojo. There were other such rooms on the estate, some larger and more beautiful, but this one was the first building that had been constructed on this land, the one all the others had grown up around, and it had a majesty all its own. Tsukikage never entered it without feeling a little thrill of awe that he was standing in a place where generations of his ancestors had trained before him. He and Hikage drew near their father and dropped to one knee in perfect sync. 

"You were quick in arriving here," said Father approvingly. "That is good. I am glad you are eager for your task." 

"Of course, Father," said Hikage. "You said you had a mission for us?" 

"That's right," Father replied. He began to pace back and forth, as he usually did when he was speaking for any length of time. "There is a school - LDS, it's called - in Maiami City. Do you know it?" 

Hikage nodded, and Tsukikage said, "I've read about it." 

"Good. Then I won't need to explain it in too much detail," Father replied. "The headmaster has contacted me asking for our help. It seems that students are disappearing from the school. There are always a few runaways at a boarding school, but these vanish without a trace. They don't go home. Many of them don't even take their belongings with them. They don't turn up elsewhere. They are simply gone." 

"They're being kidnapped?" Hikage guessed. 

"We don't know that," said Father. "Any number of things _could_ be happening. Our client wants to know what _is_ happening. His school does have security cameras and other such technology, and he has stepped up the patrols around the grounds, but so far these methods have been ineffective. He has decided, therefore, to hire specialists. That would be you." He fixed them with a piercing look, his black eyes bright beneath his shaggy gray brows. "The two of you are to patrol the school and its environs by night. Since the days are fully occupied with classes, students seldom if ever go missing then. It is night when your eyes are needed. Watch for anyone coming and going who shouldn't be. Watch for anything that is out of place. You are not to interfere, do you understand? Not unless one of you or your client and his family are in immediate danger. You are simply to watch and to report back to the headmaster." 

"But Father," said Hikage, "to just watch when someone might be in trouble..." 

"I understand how you feel," said Father, "but that is your client's wish. Consider: if you see a student being abducted, you might be able to save the student, but you might also frighten away the abductors and make them flee. Then they will be free to return, or to go and cause their damage somewhere else. Far better to watch, collect information, learn who is doing this without being seen yourself, and _then_ make a carefully orchestrated attack." His expression gentled. "I know that is not your way, Hikage, but you must learn not to be so impulsive. A little caution now saves much heartache later." 

Hikage looked as though he would like to argue, but he swallowed it down and said, "As you say, Father." 

"Good," said Father. "Listen to Tsukikage. He has good judgment. You can trust that whatever choice he makes will be right." 

"Yes, Father," said Hikage again. 

Tsukikage felt at war with himself. On the one hand, his father's praise pleased him. On the other hand, he knew it must be eating away at Hikage like acid to hear such words. 

"We won't let you down," said Tsukikage. "Either of us." 

"I know," said Father. "You are both fine warriors and I am proud of both of you. Go and pack now. I will ready transportation for you." 

Both of the twins stood and bowed before setting out for the room they shared. 

"I don't like it," Hikage muttered. 

"I know you don't," said Tsukikage. "But Father has a point. If we act rashly, we might end up scoring a minor victory and a major defeat at the same time. Or worse - we might get our charges hurt and still let the villains get away. Our job is not to solve the problem, but to help pinpoint what the problem is. Then we might be of some use in resolving it." 

"But we're heroes!" Hikage objected. "This isn't what I imagined a hero's life would be like. I don't want to be treated like - like a human security camera!" 

"It sounds as though the security cameras aren't getting the job done," said Tsukikage. "We will be an improvement." 

Hikage gave him a wry smile. "Doesn't anything ever upset you?" 

"Yes. Often," said Tsukikage. "But I don't have to take immediate action every time I feel something." 

Hikage rolled his eyes. "Sometimes I think they gave us the wrong names. It should have been the other way around." 

"How do you mean?" 

"I should have been named Moon Shadow and you should have been Sun Shadow," said Hikage. "The reason being that the moon is changeable and goes from dark to light and back again, but the sun is always the sun. Nothing ever changes it." 

Tsukikage laughed. "Nothing ever changes you either. You're always my reckless, impulsive brother, and I wouldn't have you any other way. But try to keep those impulses under control for a little while. Save them for when we need them." 

"Do you think we'll have a chance to fight, then?" Hikage asked. 

Tsukikage nodded. That was how he and his brother operated. His brother was the attacker, a warrior who could use light itself as his sword. Tsukikage was the defender, wrapping himself and his enemies in barriers of darkness. There was very little that could stop the two of them when they were working together. 

"Absolutely," said Tsukikage. "If there was no chance of a fight, they wouldn't have hired us." 

Hikage thought about this. Then he nodded. "Yes, you're right. No one would hire a ninja if they didn't expect a fight sooner or later. I'll try to be patient." He flashed his quick, easy grin. "Last one to finish packing has to clean the swords." 

Before Tsukikage could respond, Hikage had already taken off down the hall at high speed. 

"Hey!" Tsukikage protested, and then laughed. There was truly no changing his brother. Resigning himself to a night of cleaning his brother's weapon collection, he sprinted towards his room. 

* * *

Yuuya sometimes wondered how many of his memories of his father were his own, and how many were things he'd simply invented, cobbled together out of old videos and photographs and other people's recollections. He'd spent hours poring over the family album, staring into images of his father's laughing face - he always seemed to be smiling, in those old pictures - and trying to read his true nature. It wasn't easy, when your last memory of your father happened when you were eight years old. 

That day, at least, Yuuya remembered clearly. He had been playing in the park. His father had taken him there to amuse him while his mother cleaned the house and did some shopping. Yuuya remembered that he had been playing on the monkey bars, swinging from one to the other and pretending they were the flying trapeze, and that he was just like his father. Yuushou had been a few yards away, talking to a man selling crepes. Yuuya remembered those crepes so clearly they might have been photographs pasted to the inside of his eyelids: vanilla ice cream with strawberries and a drizzle of chocolate sauce, and three chocolate Pocky sticks stuck into each. His father had turned his back for just a moment, just long enough to pay the vendor... 

What Yuuya didn't remember was where the man had come from. He might have emerged out of thin air - stranger things had happened. All Yuuya knew was that he had just reached the far end of the monkey bars and was preparing to jump down when a man appeared and caught him up. What he'd looked like was hard to say. He'd seemed tall, but at eight years old everyone had seemed tall to Yuuya. He'd seemed powerfully built, but that might have been only the metal and plastic carapace the man had been wearing. He'd been masked and hooded, with a long cape that flapped behind him. Yuuya remembered that mask, a sharp metal thing with a hooked nose that made him look vaguely draconic. A piece of white glass like a gemstone sparkled on his brow. He'd snatched Yuuya into his strong arms. 

"Don't scream," he whispered. "It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you." 

But Yuuya had screamed. "Dad! Daddy!" 

Yuushou turned. The crepes slipped out of his hands and onto the path, spattering the black asphalt with white ice cream. He'd started to run, but the masked man was already running. 

What happened next was fuzzier in his mind. Yuuya remembered streets flashing by, people screaming, and the masked man running, jumping, leaping impossible distances as he tried to put space between himself and Yuushou. Yuuya remembered the way the man's hard metal suit had dug into Yuuya's ribs, and the way he'd thought, _It's okay, Daddy will save me. He's the greatest hero in the world..._

At last, the masked man had said something like, "This is the spot," and he'd stopped running in some grungy alley on some street Yuuya hadn't recognized. There, he'd shoved Yuuya behind a trash can and began fussing with some sort of machine. Yuuya looked for an escape route, but the alley was fenced off at one end and the masked man blocked the other. All he could do was wait for his father to catch up to him. 

"My daddy will be here soon," he said. "He'll rescue me. He's a hero." 

"I know," said the man. "I know everything about him." 

The next clear bit was the moment a shadow fell across the alley. Yuuya and the man both looked up to see Yuushou silhouetted against the mouth of the alley, sunlight streaming around him like a spotlight. That was Yuuya's last clear memory of his father: tall, proud, sparkling somehow even without his customary hero suit and carnival mask. He remembered thinking that now surely everything would be all right. 

Then there had been a fight. Yuuya hadn't been able to see very well from his vantage point, only a lot of confused flashes and bangs and motion. There had been a lot of smoke, until at last he'd risked crawling out of the alley and into the street in order to see better. That had been a wise move: not long after he'd reached the far end of the street, the building on one side of the alley had partially caved in. Yuuya screamed for his father and tried to run towards the wreckage, but an onlooker had caught his arm and held him back. He'd screamed and screamed... 

Then there had been a tremendous blue light. The force of it shook the world and made the rest of the building and the one next to it cave in with a roar and a fountain of dust. Then, slowly, the dust settled, and everything went silent. Yuuya had never heard the city so silent. 

And that had been the end of The Entertainer. People had sifted through the rubble, but while they had found a number of people, mostly workers who had been in the buildings when they collapsed, no one had ever positively identified Yuushou's remains. No one had found any trace of the masked man, either. It was as though both of them had disappeared into thin air. Prevailing opinion was that the blue flash had been some weapon of the villain who had taken Yuuya, some suicide blast that had been meant to take down both of them rather than let himself be taken captive, and that the force of it had vaporized both of them instantly. Sometimes, in the middle of sleepless nights, Yuuya found himself wondering if that might even be true. It was what most people believed, after all, and although he'd waited ten years, Yuushou had never come back. 

But in his bones, Yuuya was sure his father was still alive. He had seen that villain appear out of thin air, hadn't he? Well, more or less. Then why could he not have vanished back to wherever he'd come from? No doubt Yuushou was still out there somewhere, still fighting for his freedom, still looking for the way back to his family. 

Yuuya had spent the intervening years training to be a hero as great as his father. Someday, he'd promised himself, he was going to find Sakaki Yuushou and bring him home.


	2. First Patrol

Masumi leaned back in her desk and stared hard at the empty chair. 

_I wonder where she went..._

At the front of the room, the teacher was busy talking about graduation. The LDS School of Heroism ran on a slightly different schedule from its sister school on Hero Island. Generally, the students gloated over this at the beginning of the school year, when their fellow heroes were packed off to class again after their vacation while they continued to relax for a few weeks longer. As they neared the end of the school year, though, they all found themselves envying those who were already out for the semester and having a good time while the LDS students were stuck in class. It was particularly unbearable for those like Masumi, who would be graduating soon. It would be so good when she could get out on her own, assume her rightful title, and really start _doing_ something in the world. 

"Some of you, I'm sure, have already been approached for sponsorships," the teacher was saying. "If you haven't, don't worry. LDS will make sure you have the connections you need to..." 

Masumi tuned him out. Her family, of course, had connections to spare, not to mention money. Money was not a problem when your talent was linked so closely to gems and precious stones. Anyway, Masumi was set to be the next Gemcutter, and the Gemcutter line was a well-established one. She was an attractive woman, too - she was under no illusions about that - and looks always helped when it came to getting sponsorships. She already had a number of offers lined up, so she'd be earning money almost the instant she stepped out the school's door. 

"I'll need someone to pass out these application forms," said the teacher. "How about you, Hanasaki? ...Oh, she's not here. Has anyone seen Hanasaki today?" 

"She was in divination class earlier," offered Hokuto. 

"Well, she's not here now," said the teacher, a bit testily. 

"Maybe she's sick," said one of the other girls. 

"She was fine this morning," said another. 

The teacher took out his phone and sent a brief message. He frowned at the response. 

"She isn't in the infirmary," he said. "Would someone go to her room and check to see if she's there?" 

"I will," said Masumi. The words were out of her mouth before she'd known she was going to say them. Still, Hanasaki's absence had been eating at her ever since she'd gotten to class. It wasn't as though the two of them were friends - they didn't share any classes other than this one. Masumi mostly knew her through Hokuto, just another friend of a friend who she saw sometimes around campus and knew well enough to say hello to. It was just that Hanasaki had seemed her usual self at lunch. She'd been quiet, but she was that sort of girl - one of those types who had little to say and mostly kept to herself. She hadn't seemed sick, or like someone who was contemplataing doing something drastic like skipping school. She wasn't the skipping school type. Actually, she'd always struck Masumi as a bit of a goody two-shoes. Her absence was inexplicable, out of character, and therefore worrying. 

Anyway, if they were going to talk about sponsorships in class all afternoon, there was no point in hanging around. As soon as Masumi had the teacher's permission, she headed for the girls' dormitory and began tracking down Hanasaki's room. When she reached the door, she knocked loudly. 

"Hanasaki?" she called. "Hanasaki, it's me, Masumi, from class. Are you in there?" 

No answer came to her. She knocked again anyway, although if someone had answered that second summons she would have been surprised. When she got no answer that time, either, she tried the door handle. It turned. Masumi frowned. Security around LDS tended to be strict. Students could be reprimanded if they did anything silly like leave doors unlocked when there was no one around, or left their ID badges where someone might find them. Even their textbooks and syllabi were closely guarded. It didn't seem natural that someone as diligent as Hanasaki would leave her room unprotected. 

"Hanasaki?" she called again. "I'm coming in." 

She pushed the door open. It was a single room - nearly all the rooms at LDS were singles. It was a prestigious and expensive school, and its students expected a certain amount of pampering. The rooms themselves weren't extravagantly large, but they were comfortable, and were furnished at the school's expense with whatever equipment a student might need for private practice. This one had the standard bed, desk, computer, a couple of bookshelves, a small sofa and coffee table, and a lot of star charts and diagrams that marked her as one of Hokuto's fellow divinators. What it didn't have was... well, Hanasaki, for starters. It also looked as though it was missing several other things, although Masumi wasn't well acquainted enough with Hanasaki's belongings to know what it was that might be missing. All that was left were clues: gaps in the bookcase, small clear patches on the desk and table where dust hadn't settled because something had been sitting there, empty hangers in the open closet. A plush bunny lay on the floor as though it had been considered and discarded in the rush to pack. 

_Gone,_ Masumi thought dully. She had an irrational urge to run for the school's front door, as though if she were quick enough she might still catch up to her. She couldn't even know for sure that she'd gone out the front door. The school had plenty of side exits and doors used only by staff. Anyway, she might not be the clairvoyant that Hokuto was, but her gut was still telling her that however Hanasaki had left the school, it hadn't been in the traditional sense. 

She returned to class a few minutes later. 

"I couldn't find her," she said. "I checked her room and the library and the divination classroom and all the girls' bathrooms. She's just gone." 

"Hm," said the teacher, frowning. "Well, I'm sure she'll turn up." 

He didn't sound sure. He left the students filling out forms while he stepped into the hallway to make a phone call. It was hard to hear what he was saying through the soundproofing, but his tone was worried. 

Yaiba abandoned his desk and went to sit in the chair next to Masumi. 

"So, you think she ran away?" he asked. 

"Don't ask me," said Masumi. "Ask your buddy, there. He's the know-it-all." 

She jerked a thumb at Hokuto, who obligingly abandoned his seat to perch on the windowsill next to Masumi's desk. 

"Don't ask me," he said. "I could try reading the cards, if you want." 

"Maybe later," said Masumi. Her experience with Hokuto showed his forecasts were at their most accurate when he didn't have to hurry them. Trying to do a quick read in the middle of class would only confuse the situation. "Right now, I want to think." 

The two of them watched her, waiting to see what her thinking would lead to. 

Masumi, Yaiba, and Hokuto - not a combination she would have arrived at when she'd first begun her schooling. They had very little in common, beyond a mutual desire to become heroes and do some good in the world. Masumi was cool, collected, and a little aloof. Yaiba was brash and reckless and wanted to be everyone's favorite rival if he couldn't be their friend. Hokuto was an intellectual, nervous and easily flustered beneath his air of all-knowingness, always happier with his books and star charts than with people. 

But somehow, they'd been thrust together. Masumi, with her impenetrable diamond armor, was considered the best in the school at defensive techniques. Yaiba's whirling blades and unmatched speed and power made him the most esteemed of the school's physical fighters. And Hokuto, with his clairvoyance and his talent for long-distance fighting, was considered the model support student. Thus, the three of them became the school's showpieces, called on regularly to demonstrate their skills to the student body, to other schools, and to society at large. With everyone else putting them on pedestals, they had almost out of necessity started hanging out with each other because no one else dared to. By this point, Masumi had come to like them. She even thought they might like her. Lately Hokuto had been bringing her interesting mineral samples, and once a book on the mystical uses of crystals, and that had to mean _something_. 

Masumi hadn't quite worked up the nerve to talk it over with them yet, but she'd harbored a dream that when they graduated, the three of them would continue to work together. She thought it could be good. Yaiba would be their attacker, she would handle defense and strategy, and Hokuto would give them the guidance of the heavens and back them up with his bow and arrows. She was sure, given the chance, they could be an invincible team. The problem was that all three of them were good enough to be recruited into other, more established teams, if that was where they wanted to go. There was even a rumor going around the school that Hokuto had been scouted by the Gamesmen, Mutou Yuugi's team of legendary vigilantes. Hokuto insisted that they had done any such thing, but the fact that the rumor persisted showed just what high esteem he was held in. Masumi herself knew that she had a job offer from Kaiba Seto's White Dragons, and it was going to be very hard to make herself turn that down. 

"I think," she said at last, "that maybe we should look into this." 

"What do you mean?" Hokuto asked. 

"Just... use our eyes and ears," said Masumi. "Talk to people who knew her. You can do that, Hokuto. Chat with her friends and see if she's been different lately, find out what she's been talking about, what she's interested in. Maybe find out if she's had some sort of weird prophecy lately that might provoke her to leave in a hurry. Yaiba, you know everyone in the school. Snoop around and find out if anyone else has left the school suddenly, or if anyone has been acting oddly." 

"What will you do?" Yaiba asked. 

"Research," said Masumi. "Find out if there are any records of students vanishing in the past. Look into the teachers' backgrounds. Find out if there have been disappearances at any other schools they've taught at, or any other schools in general recently. Research Hanasaki's family and see if there's anything unique about them." 

The boys nodded. As always, they would follow her lead. Masumi had to smile in spite of her worry. Her gut might be telling her that something bad was happening, but at least she would have her team with her. 

_And if we can solve this, it will prove we really do make a good team,_ she thought. _And then I'll ask them. They can't say no once I've proven it will work._

She was sorry when the teacher came back in and class resumed. Now that she had a mission in mind, she couldn't wait to get started. 

* * *

The sun was just beginning to set when Yuuya stepped out of his house. He paused to admire the sight of the gold-orange sunbeams slanting through the buildings around him and casting geometric shadows on the street. Yes, night was the time for heroes to be out - and performers too, he thought. It was hard to see a spotlight properly when it was daylight, after all. He was glad that he was about to go out on patrol, what would hopefully be the first of many. 

He grinned and waved as he saw his two teammates come hurrying up the street to join him. 

"Hey, you guys," he said. "Ready to roll?" 

"Do we look ready to go to you?" asked Yuzu, giving him a light shove. "Or did you think we put on these costumes just for the fun of it?" 

Yuuya just laughed. Yuzu, he thought, looked particularly good in her costume. It was a form-fitting bodysuit such as many heroes wore, meant to reduce things that could be grabbed or snagged during battle, but she'd added a skirt made of silvery material that sparkled in hologram flashes. It made a particularly eye-catching sight as she moved through her gymnastic battle routines. Around her waist was a belt with several small pouches on it, mostly containing the things she might need in emergencies. In her case, that consisted of things like spare battery packs and extra MP3 players with all her extensive playlists. She preferred the old fashioned kind to trying to keep all her music stored on her phone. She said it was too much bother scrolling through this and that trying to find exactly what she wanted when it was easier just to snap her headphones out of one player and into another. Yuuya knew that each player contained a slightly different style of music, one for any circumstance that might come up while they were on a mission. She was also carrying a few spare pairs of earphones, since they tended to get snatched off her head more often than she'd like. 

Gon-chan, of course, had gone for a more simple look. His costume was only a modified version of the clothes he wore in martial arts practice, simple white trousers and jacket with a red sash and a red headband tied around his forehead. Having to move quickly was not really a problem for him, and there was really no point in anyone trying to grab him if he didn't want to be grabbed. Since he was not interested in making a flashy show, he could wear more or less what he liked to a fight. 

Yuuya regarded the two of them with pride. These were his team, the best people he could imagine having on his side. With Yuzu's skill in battle and all her multiple musical enhancements, and Gon-chan's raw power, and - yes, let's be honest - Yuuya's own imitable skill, what could possibly work against them? 

"Let's go, then," he said. 

"Great," said Yuzu. "Where are we going?" 

"I thought we could make a sort of loop around downtown - up Fifth Street, along the edge of the big highway, and then down Lakeview and back through Center." 

"Works for me," said Gongenzaka. He was agreeing to jog along about a five mile circuit without any sort of supernatural enhancement. For him, that was still just a pleasant stroll. Yuuya grinned. At least _he_ didn't have to walk if he didn't want to. 

"Try to keep up, then," he said. Yuzu slipped on her headphones and turned on her speed music, and was off in a flash. Gongenzaka began to run, his footfalls making audible clunks as he jogged stolidly along. 

Yuuya still let them get a good ways ahead of him before he, too, set off on an easy lope. When he'd gotten the rhythm down comfortably, he jumped. He sprang as high as he could, reaching skyward until... yes, there it was. His hands closed around wood and cloth, and he found himself swinging easily up into the air on a trapeze that hadn't been there before, a trapeze that hung from the sky, supported by nothing but his own belief that there would be a trapeze there when he wanted it. He let it swing him up until it reached the peak of its arc, and then he let himself go. For a moment, he drifted through empty space. Then his questing hand found another trapeze, and he let it swing him down and then up again, propelling him even higher into the sky. Within a few such repetitions, he was swinging easily along fifty feet above the ground. He laughed with delight. He'd done this sort of thing a thousand times in practice at school, but there he'd always been limited in how high he was allowed to go and how far he could travel before his teachers called him back down to earth. He was always happiest when he was out in the real world, where no one was telling him that he wasn't allowed to skim through the air at rooftop level, looking down on the street below. 

Now he could spare a glance at the sidewalk and see that Yuzu and Gon-chan were keeping pace with him easily enough. From up here, too, he could see everything that was happening on the street below, even if it was only in the form of moving dots. He got glimpses of businessmen walking home for the day, shoppers peering through windows, teenagers waiting for the bus. 

_I'd stay up here all day, if I could._ Sadly, he knew that his friends couldn't easily keep up with him over long distances when he did this. He would come down soon, he decided, at the corner of Fifth and Maple, and wait for them to catch up. For now, though, he would be glad enough to have the freedom of the air. 

Yuuya's talents were unusual almost to the point of being unique. As far as he knew, his father had been the only other person in the world to have this exact gift. Essentially, his talent was "circus". He was a powerful psychic projector, as his teachers had put it - someone who could alter reality temporarily purely through the power of ideas. In short, he could create, if only briefly, anything he imagined, so long as he could make it fit under the umbrella idea of "circus". If he needed transportation, he couldn't create a sports car or an armored tank, but a clown car or a motorcycle or even an elephant decked in feathers was well within his means. More importantly, he could share this gift with the people around him, to the extent that the more people who watched his show and believed in what he was doing, the more powerful and long-lasting his illusions would be. These flying trapeze he was inventing had a shelf life of only a few seconds if no one was watching him, which made it important for him to know when to let go and jump to the next one - otherwise he would fall and probably have an uncomfortable landing. With a hundred people watching him in the school auditorium, he could get a whole three-ring circus going, for as long as their attention span held out. Anyone who thought this gift of his was silly had never considered what it would be like to be trampled by a herd of circus ponies. 

He dropped back to earth at the end of the street, and waited as first Yuzu and then Gongenzaka caught up to him. Yuzu slipped her headphones off and asked, "Did you see something?" 

"No, just wanted to make sure I didn't get too far ahead of you guys," he said. "How about you? I'm guessing you didn't see anything." 

"All is quiet," said Gongenzaka. "A perfect night in Maiami City." 

"Let's walk around a little, then," said Yuuya. "I don't know this part of town very well. I feel like we ought to get to know our city better." 

Yuzu nodded. "We've been away from home a long time... I remember when that café right there was a book store." 

Gongenzaka nodded. He was usually amenable to anything. "I don't mind looking around a bit." 

Thus agreed, the three of them began strolling around the neighborhood. A few people recognized them by their outfits as heroes and waved or smiled as they passed. Many of those recognized Yuuya and stopped to speak to him. Everyone over the age of ten remembered his father, if only vaguely, and thus recognized Yuuya as well. Yuuya found it all a little embarrassing. 

He was glad that he had purposely made his official costume not too much like his father's. His father had always portrayed himself as the ringmaster, in top hat and tail coat, flourishing a cane with a jeweled knob that sometimes became a sword or a bunch of flowers as the whim took him. Yuuya was dressed in something that echoed a harlequin costume, with red and orange diamond patterns that mimicked his father's preferred color scheme will still being distinctly his own. He wore a harlequin mask, too, in the fine tradition of superheroes. He liked the costume. It was eye-catching and easy for him to move in, and as an acrobat, he appreciated that. His father had always used his powers to direct the show at a distance, whereas Yuuya had trained himself to be a more up-close fighter. That about summed up his feelings about all this: he wanted to carry on his father's legacy, but he also wanted to be, distinctly, himself. 

He was half mulling over these ambivalent feelings and half thinking about how soon he should take to the air again if he wanted to be home in time for the celebratory dinner, when Yuzu suddenly perked up. 

"Something's happening," she said. 

She didn't have to say any more. Yuuya and Gon-chan immediately became stock-still and silent, the better not to distract her. Yuuya would always admit that while his range of talents was diverse, Yuzu was in many ways the more effective and adaptable of the two of them. Her powers were closely linked to music. What she could do was tied to what she was listening to. Fast-paced music let her move faster and with more agility. Anything with a hard beat made her stronger. Soft, soothing music enhanced her senses, allowing her to see, hear, smell, and feel things that were undetectable to normal people. Just now, she was using that sense to try to pinpoint what it was that disturbed her, and that meant everyone needed to give her as few distractions as possible. 

"That way," she said after a few seconds silent thought. She pointed up a narrow side street, where Yuuya could just make out a few shops at the far end. Her partners nodded, and the three of them began easing their way stealthily up the street. They were in a semi-residential neighborhood, now, one of those where families operated shops or cafes out of the ground floor and lived on the upper floors. At this time of the day, a lot of shops were closing down, as the residents settled in to eat their own dinners, do their homework, and relax a bit. There were few people on the street. It looked, Yuuya thought, entirely peaceful, but he knew better than to doubt Yuzu's senses. If she said something weird was going on, he was prepared to trust her. 

When they reached the intersection, Yuzu paused a moment to get her bearings. Then she gestured for her friends to follow her. They came to a pocket-sized playground, empty now that it was dark and a little eerie with only the moonlight and the glow of nearby street lamps to illuminate it. Yuuya scanned the area until he thought he saw movement behind some bushes. He tapped Yuzu on the shoulder and pointed, and she nodded. Yuuya mouthed the words, "Split up?" Yuzu and Gon-chan nodded. Yuzu and Gongenzaka began walking around to either side of the shrubbery, while Yuuya once again took to the air. It was hard to get a lot of room to move here, with all the trees that were in the way, but he could get high enough to vault over a stand of boxwood, and that was what he did. He swung himself easily over them and dropped onto the soft grass beyond, landing lightly in front of five very startled-looking young men. 

"Hey!" one of them yelped, earning dirty looks from his comrades. At least, Yuuya thought they were dirty looks, but it was hard to tell; all of them were wearing silver-gray masks with glassed-over eyes that left only their mouths visible. Each of them was wearing a suit of some military cut, blue jackets with pale gray leggings and boots. They might have been heroes out for patrol just like Yuuya and his friends were, but he was certain in his soul that they weren't. 

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Yuuya demanded. 

"I don't see why you need to know that," one of them replied. He was the only one of the group whose mask had a blue gem set into it instead of the red or yellow that the others had, and his uniform had fancy gold epaulets, so Yuuya assumed he was the leader. 

"I'm The Entertainer, official hero to Maiami City," said Yuuya, "and I think it's my business when creepy people in masks are lurking around kids' playgrounds at night. So, who are you and what are you doing?" 

"A hero, huh?" said one of the red-gem soldiers. "Well, get lost, hero. We're not here to pick a fight with you. If anything, you should be on our side." 

"Yeah, we're not doing anything wrong," said another soldier. "So get lost. Go find a robber to clobber and leave us alone." 

"I don't think so," said Yuzu, stepping into view on the other side. "I don't like the look of you guys, and my friends don't either, so answer the question before we _make_ you answer it." 

"You two can't make us do anything," the leader scoffed. "For your information, though, we call ourselves the Uprising. We're here to forward the interests of supers. Does that satisfy you?" 

Yuuya's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "And just how do you do that?" 

"By removing people who get in our way," said one of the soldiers, slipping a strange device from a holster at his belt. "So get out of our way before you get removed." 

"I don't think so!" said Yuuya. He focused his mind on the image of a circus knife thrower, tossing daggers at a beautiful woman who spun around on a moving target. The knife appeared in Yuuya's hand, light but solid as steel should be. He gave it a flick, and it struck the strange weapon and knocked it out of the soldier's hand. The soldier yelped, probably more in surprise than pain, and Yuzu moved to try to snatch the strange object up before he could grab it again. 

"Oh, no you don't!" said one of the other soldiers, and tried to grab her. Bad move: Yuzu slipped her battle fan from its holster and waved it at him, forcing him to either retreat or to have that razor-edged fan slashed across his face. Yuuya couldn't help but grin. Yuzu generally used her fan as a battering weapon rather than a slicing one, but it was amusing to see how skillfully she could use it to nick the buttons off that pretentious uniform. 

He didn't have long to enjoy it, however, because the other soldiers seemed to decide at last that this was a fight they needed to take seriously. Two of them converged on Yuuya, apparently thinking he looked less dangerous than his friends, in spite of his knives. After all, Yuzu was already laying about with her steel-reinforced fan with its gleaming edge, and Gongenzaka was beginning to look annoyed. An annoyed Gongenzaka who was unarmed still looked more formidable than the average man would armed with a bazooka and a chainsaw. Yuuya could understand, objectively, why someone might decide a boy dressed in a clown outfit might be the least of their problems. 

He waited until one of them came within striking range, then reached up and grabbed the suspended rings that had just appeared there and used them to swing himself feet-first into an attacker’s face. He continued his swing by flipping himself upside down, then continuing the circle so that as he dropped downwards he brought his toes in contact with a second attacker’s head, sending them sprawling. Yuuya completed the trick with a leap into the air and a somersault. He landed lightly on his feet and, out of habit, struck a pose. 

Nearby, one of the other soldiers had decided to try his luck with Gongenzaka, who was at least just standing there watching without giving any sign that he intended to try fighting with them. 

“What’s the matter, you big gorilla?” said the soldier. “Is a big guy like you really too chicken to fight?” 

Without waiting for an answer, he raised one hand, and an icy white glow gathered around it. Yuuya took a quick mental note of that - these really were supers, not just ordinary civilians. That made Yuuya feel a little better for kicking a few of them in the head. It certainly made him feel a little better about what was about to happen. 

The soldier with the glowing fist pulled back, emitted a roar, and drove it as hard as he could into Gongenzaka’s middle. Gongenzaka watched him calmly. The hand struck him squarely in the solar plexus. There was a thud, and then a wail of pain from the soldier as he clutched his stricken hand. 

“My turn,” said Gongenzaka. 

He thrust one massive fist out and up in a powerful uppercut. It lifted the soldier off his feet and propelled him several feet away. 

“Anyone else want to try?” he bellowed. 

Yuuya grinned. Even before he’d officially registered the name, Gongenzaka had been known around school as The Immovable Man. His talent was to make himself absolutely motionless, no matter what forces might batter against him. Once he’d settled into a stance, the only way to get him to move was to blast the ground out from underneath him, and even then he’d just drop straight down and stay there. Nothing - not blades, blows, or even laser beams - made any difference to him once he’d decided they wouldn’t. Of course, it meant that he couldn’t use his talent and move at the same time, but it made him the ultimate human shield. It was also a handy way to intimidate any enemies, to let them see that their most powerful attacks bounced right off of him. 

Indeed, these soldiers didn’t seem to like the look of him either. Nor were they too keen on Yuzu, who had her fight music blasting from her headphones and was battering the people around her with swings of her fan that were fast enough to seem only blurs. Yuuya watched calmly as one of the fighters took a desperate run at him. Yuuya made a little flourish and produced two hoops. He looped one around the oncoming attacker, who vanished into it. A second or two later, he popped out of the other one at high speed, tumbled on the grass, and looked around in confusion as he tried to figure out what had happened. Yuuya grinned. That had been one of the first tricks his father had taught him, back when they’d first realized he’d inherited his father’s gifts. 

“Captain!” one of the soldiers wailed. Yuzu had managed to back him against the fence, and he was staring at the edge of her fan with sheer terror. 

“That’s it, we’re pulling out!” the captain shouted back. “Everyone, retreat!” 

He held up a small device that Yuuya couldn’t see clearly in the dim light. It emitted a beep, then a hum, and then a clear blue-white light that expanded rapidly until it looked as though the captain was standing in front of a spotlight. The other soldiers dropped whatever they were doing and made a run for it. The one Yuzu had cornered made a lunge to the side and rolled away. One who had made the mistake of letting Gongenzaka grab him writhed out of his blue jacket and made his escape. All five of them dove into the glowing light, which closed with an electric snap as it vanished. Yuuya found himself blinking in the sudden darkness. 

“Is everyone okay?” he called. 

“I’m fine,” said Yuzu, slipping her headphones off to let them hang around her neck. “They weren’t much of a challenge. I wonder what they wanted?” 

“I don’t know,” said Yuuya, “but I’ve got a really bad feeling about them.” 

“I got one of their jackets,” said Gongenzaka, brandishing his prize. “Maybe there’s something in the pockets.” 

He carried it over to a nearby picnic table, and the three of them began examining it. The coat did indeed have pockets. One of them contained some sort of ID badge, marking the owner as Furutani Kai and gave his rank as “private.” Other pockets held some less informative but interesting bric-a-brac: a key ring with assorted keys, a stack of pins and ID badges from various nearby schools, a roll of lockpicks, a glass cutter, a little bottle of chloroform wrapped in a rag, and perhaps most importantly, another of those odd handheld devices. 

“Don’t touch it,” said Yuuya. “We don’t know what it does. Push the wrong button, and it might zap us into next Tuesday.” 

Gongenzaka nodded. “We should take this stuff and all our video to the police and let them figure out what to do with it.” 

Yuuya nodded. Like most professional heroes these days, he and his friends had cameras built into their costumes; they picked up valuable clues that the human eye might missed, and helped prevent any heroes misusing their powers on the sly. Anyway, it wasn’t as though he and his friends could chase after those people at this point. 

“Let’s go, then,” he said. 

Gongenzaka nodded, rolled everything back up inside the jacket, and tucked the bundle under his arm. The three of them began walking towards the nearest police station. 

Gradually, Yuuya became aware that Yuzu was watching him anxiously. He tried not to let her see the effect her attention was having on him. He and Yuzu had been best friends for as long as he could remember. She was smart and brave and funny and kind, and more and more Yuuya had been wondering if he had the nerve to ask her on a date. The fact that she was staring at him now... 

“Are you okay?” she asked. “You look kind of shaken. They didn’t hurt your or something, did they?” 

“No, I’m fine,” he said, forcibly pulling his mind back to the matter at hand. “It’s just... well, I can’t help thinking...” 

“Thinking what?” 

“Well, call me crazy,” he said, “but... okay, I know it was ten years ago, and memories can get fuzzy over all that time, but...” He raised his eyes to hers. “I’d swear those guys were wearing the same masks as the guy who kidnapped me.”


	3. Retaliation

“...related to the spate of disappearances in Maiami City and surrounding towns,” the newscaster was saying. “The suspects were engaged in battle by The Entertainer, son of the previous hero of the same name, and his team, Music Boxer and The Immovable Man. We have them here now, talking to our man on the street...” 

Shingo scowled as he watched the scene switch to an interviewer outside the police station, talking to a boy in a carnival mask. 

“Really, the credit goes to my team,” he was saying. “Music Boxer was the first to realize something was wrong, and The Immovable Man was the one who grabbed the jacket with all the stuff in it. I just, you know, helped with the fighting.” 

“Commendably modest,” said the newscaster. “I understand this was your first night out as an official hero, correct?” 

“Yeah, we wanted to get to work right away,” said the boy. “We didn’t realize it was going to get quite this exciting right off the bat, but I know we’re all glad to have done something useful for the city.” 

“You intend to follow in the footsteps of your father, then?” 

“Yeah. I want to make him proud of me. I know he’d want me to carry on his work and do whatever I can to protect Maimi City. I only hope I can be anywhere near as great as he was, but I’m going to give it my all!” 

“Blech,” said Shingo. He stalked out of his room to look for his father. 

“Dad!” he shouted into the office. “Everybody on TV is talking about The Entertainer!” 

“So? What do you want me to do about it?” his father replied, barely glancing up for a stack of papers. “The man’s been dead for ten years. I can’t exactly do anything to him now.” 

“I don’t mean that one, I mean his son. He’s taken on the family name, and now all the TV stations are sucking up to him and making like he’s a big deal just because he got into one little scuffle in some overgrown back lot somewhere. He didn’t even catch the guys he was fighting with. He let them get away!” 

“All right, all right, fine,” said his father. “I’ll butter up the news stations tomorrow, throw a little advertising money at them. That’ll get them to settle down.” 

“They’d better,” Shingo mumbled, and slunk back to his room. 

Things, in his opinion, were not going well for him. To be more precise, they were not going as well as they ought to be. He had done everything he could think of to make sure his entry on the world of heroes would make a splash. He’d been the top student at LDS, so much so that his father had been able to pull a few strings and get the school to agree to let him graduate a whole semester in advance of his peers, something not even the Sawatari family money could have achieved if Shingo himself hadn’t been so outstandingly talented. Right away, he’d started picking off a few minor local villains and ne’er-do-wells, and felt he’d been making a real career for himself. 

And yet, he still felt blocked. For one thing, he still didn’t have a team yet. He’d been sure that once he graduated, he’d have any number of people lining up to join him, but here he was after weeks on the job and he was still working solo. He’d had a few offers from other, well-established teams, but he’d turned them all down. If he couldn’t be leader, then what was the point? 

There was that matter of the names, too. He couldn’t seem to come up with one that suited him, and the people at the name registry office were criminally unsympathetic. Honestly, was it his fault that someone else had already taken “Bullseye” and “Sharpshooter”? He’d asked his father to talk to them and see if one of them would agree to sell their name, but so far nothing had come of it. He’d tried being On-Target for a while, and had briefly flirted with Inner Circle, but nothing had quite the right ring to it. Right now, he was registered as Perfect Throw and wasn’t happy about it, but the clerk at the registry office had refused to do another change for him for at least three months. He’d thought about trying to get her fired for that, but since he still hadn’t thought of the perfect name yet, he had decided there wasn’t much point. 

Now there was this Entertainer to deal with. Shingo had made up his mind from the start that _he_ was going to be Maiami City’s prime hero. Every city had one hero or group of heroes that they considered to be their mascot, their official guardian. They might be funded by the local government, or they might just have been unofficially selected by general consensus, but they were always there. If you could get that kind of acclaim, that was when you knew you had really made it, that you were part of the big league. It meant that any major heroes looking for a team-up would call on you. It meant you could get the big jobs that brought real fame and glory. Maiami City was a large and important metropolis, and getting to be its official hero would make him famous throughout the country and possibly even beyond. 

That hero would have been Shingo, if only this Entertainer kid hadn’t turned up at just the wrong moment to steal his spotlight. He’d been doing so _well_ so far. He’d already foiled a number of pickpockets, muggers, a few convenience store robberies, a car theft, and a pawn shop smash-and-grab. He’d made it into the newspapers a few times. People had started reaching out to him directly for small jobs - bodyguard duty, escorting valuable cargo, that sort of thing. He was really starting to gain traction. And now all his hard work was going to be set back because of some kid with a famous name. 

_It’s not like he’s done anything useful yet,_ he told himself. _Just scrapped with some creepy guys and let them get away. If I’d been there, I could have done more than steal a stupid jacket. I’d have hauled in every last one for questioning. He shouldn’t get all this attention just because he managed to be in the right place at the right time._

Well, he wasn’t going to stand for it. One way or the other, he was going to find some way to teach this Entertainer a lesson, and show him who was _really_ Maiami City’s hero. 

* * *

Furutani Kai was not having a good day. 

“Please, sir,” he stammered, from his kneeling position on the floor. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean...” 

“I should hope not,” said a voice above him. “I would be profoundly disappointed in you if you had done something so colossally stupid on purpose.” 

Kai shivered. Things had been going so well up until now. He’d felt like he’d finally found a place where he fitted in. He’d completed his basic training with flying colors, and his first few missions had gone well. He’d been starting to think that a promotion could be in the offing, and now... 

“I was just obeying orders, sir,” he tried. “The captain said to go, and I went. It isn’t my fault that guy had hold of my jacket at the time.” 

He didn’t dare look up to see how that was going, but the rustles and murmurs he could hear did not sound encouraging. He suspected that his timing was bad - if he’d had to get into trouble, he should have tried to do it at a time when the officers weren’t having dinner. Now he wasn’t just being dragged before his commander, or even his general, but _all_ of the higher-ups, none of whom were happy to have their meal interrupted. He’d dreamed of sitting up there with all of them someday, but now that was probably never going to happen. 

“I see. It wasn’t your fault,” said the voice. “You would pass the blame on to someone else, then? Whose fault would you say it was?” 

Kai shivered again. In this rigidly defined world he lived in, that voice belonged to the one man who lived outside the definitions: the one they called The Professor. In this place of military titles, he held the rank of a religious figure, the one who promised a future the rest of them could not as yet see. He was not the most powerful among them in terms of raw power or brute strength, but without him, they would be nothing. 

“It... I guess it was mine, sir,” Kai managed at last. “I shouldn’t have let myself get caught. I should have remembered how important the things I was carrying with me were. I was careless.” 

“That’s right,” said the Professor. “I am glad you understood your mistake. Now, tell me, just who were these people you so carelessly allowed to rob you? Some mighty, famous hero, no doubt. Or perhaps it was some notorious villain who was your downfall?” 

“I don’t know who they were,” said Kai. He was almost babbling now in his terror. “There was this girl who was listening to music the whole time and hitting people with a metal fan, and this huge guy who was built like a brick wall, and this one who was dressed like a clown and doing circus tricks the whole time...” 

He became aware of a change in the energy in the room. Emboldened, he looked up to see the Professor exchanging a few words with one of his neighbors. Something about his news seemed to have interested them, and Kai wondered if perhaps he might get out of this with his honor intact, after all. 

“Circus tricks, you say?” the Professor murmured. “Interesting. I had wondered if he might finally turn up. I would like to know more about this circus performer. If he his who I think he is, we might consider it a sign that the day we have been waiting for is indeed near at hand.” 

Kai almost fainted with relief. Perhaps this adventure had been a bit of good luck after all. 

“Do you want us to go back and look into it?” he asked. 

“No,” the Professor replied. “I think it would be better to keep as low a profile around him as possible. Some subtlety would be advised, I feel...” 

His chilly gaze swept around the room. All around him, people sat up a little straighter, looked more alert, eager to prove that they could live up to expectations. At last, his gaze strayed to a small figure, half hidden by the massive tiered cake that dominated his end of the table. 

“What about you?” said the Professor. “You’ve been itching for some fieldwork. How does the idea of an undercover mission strike you?” 

“I’m up for it,” said a voice from behind the cake. “You can count on me, Professor - I won’t let you down.” 

“Excellent,” said the Professor. “I will look forward to hearing of your progress. Report to my office after dinner, and I will see to it that you are properly equipped.” He turned his chilly gaze to Kai. “As for you, consider yourself on probation. You will return to basic training for two weeks of remedial practice. If your trainers give you their approval, you may return to your unit two weeks from tomorrow.” 

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir!” Kai babbled. “I’ll do my best to redeem myself, sir!” 

“See that you do,” the Professor replied. “The end of our mission will soon be at hand, and we will need you and others like you to ensure our success.” 

Kai made his escape as gracefully as he could. He wasn’t even sorry to have to undergo remedial training. He was too intrigued by the possibility that he had brought valuable news to the Professor to worry too much about what he was about to go through. 

The promised day was coming. For that, Kai was ready to go through anything. 

Everything in this world was based on ranks and measures. Those who had no superpowers at all were servants, put to work doing all the hardest, most menial chores. Those who had a tiny smidgeon of power were overseers, who kept the servants on track and did the lighter jobs around the complex. Those with weak but still serviceable powers were foot soldiers like Kai. The next level up were the captains, and above them, the generals. Those with truly great powers were called princes and princesses, or even kings and queens. 

“But someday,” the Professor had promised, “there will come someone who is even more powerful than kings and queens. There are those who say that one thousand is the theoretical upper limit to S-levels, but I promise you, it is possible to break that barrier, and someday, there will come a man who will. I have foreseen his coming.” 

Someone in the audience had asked, “What kind of person could have S-levels higher than one thousand?” 

“Not just a person,” said the Professor. “That man... will be a _god_.” 

* * *

The headmaster of the LDS School for Heroism was sitting on the floor, playing with blocks. At least, he was trying to play with blocks. It had taken some effort to get this far, but although the effort had been laborious, he was pleased with how far matters had come. 

“That’s right,” he said, as Reira carefully balanced a green triangle on top of a red rectangle. “You’re getting the hang of it.” 

Reira stepped back to admire his work. It was a pretty rough approximation of a castle, but he seemed to think it was good enough. He offered Reiji a small, shy smile. 

“Yes, that’s very good,” Reiji told him. He offered him a blue square. “Where do you think this one should go?” 

Reira reached out to take it. Before his fingers could close around it, however, the door opened and Reiji’s secretary peered through the door. Reira gave a muffled squeak and pressed himself to Reiji’s side for protection, knocking down part of the castle in the process. 

_Damn it, I thought I told everyone not to make any sudden movements around Reira!_ He made a mental note to reprimand the man later, when Reira wasn’t listening in. Reira still reacted badly to raised voices, even when they weren’t directed at him, and Reiji intended to employ one as soon as he got the chance. 

“What is it?” Reiji asked. “Can’t you see we’re busy?” 

“I’m sorry, sir,” his secretary replied, “but there are two gentlemen here to see you. They say you sent for them. They say they’re called Hikage and Tsukikage.” 

“Ahh, yes, them,” said Reiji, relaxing a little. “Where are they now?” 

“I put them in the blue waiting room. That was right, wasn’t it?” 

“It was good enough,” said Reiji. He looked down at his brother. “What do you think, Reira? Do you want to come meet some new friends? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” 

Reira thought about this for a moment. At last he nodded. 

“All right,” said Reiji, nodding. He looked back to the secretary. “Tell them we’ll be along shortly. Bring them some coffee or something. Do ninjas drink coffee?” 

“I will endeavor to ascertain, sir,” said the secretary, and slipped away. 

Reira looked around, his expression becoming uncertain. 

“I broke the castle,” he said. 

Reiji gave him a reassuring smile. “That’s all right. That’s what block castles are for - you build them up so you can have the fun of knocking them down, and once you’ve knocked them down, you can have the fun of building them up again. There’s no wrong way to play with blocks.” 

Reira looked comforted at this. He reached for his brother’s hand, and Reiji took it and began leading him to the door. He had to shorten his steps so that Reira could keep up, but he didn’t mind. He didn’t even really think about it anymore. Reira might not have been his brother by blood, but that had long ago ceased to matter. He had taken this responsibility, and he was going to live up to it. 

Reira had been a foundling. LDS, like most hero training facilities, would take in children with superpowers when their parents couldn’t cope. Raising superpowered children, especially those whose talents manifested early, wasn’t easy, especially when you hadn’t got any powers yourself. It was up to places like LDS to find foster homes for them if they could, and provide as supportive a home for them as possible within the facility if they couldn’t. It wasn’t a perfect system, but in an imperfect world, it was often the best they could do when handed a child who naturally oozed magma or was in the habit of creating small black holes for no apparent reason. 

In a way, Reira had been worse than that, because at first he hadn’t appeared to do anything. He hadn’t appeared to do _anything_. A toddler who did nothing but stare vacantly into space and didn’t seem at all interested in food or companionship, who didn’t even react to bright light or loud noises or pain, had been more than a little unnerving. Eventually, the lab had concluded that Reira was a powerful receptive telepath, so powerful that the constant stimulus had overwhelmed his basic personality and left him unable to find himself within the crashing sea of other voices in his head. A combination of telepathy dampeners and a lot of training had left him able to function, more or less, but it hadn’t repaired the damage that had already been done. He had walked through life like a robot, doing what he was told when he was told to do it, otherwise sitting and staring silently at the walls until the next order came along. Some of the scientists had said he could potentially be useful someday as a fighting force: his telepathic gifts were so strong that he could even temporarily channel other people’s talents through himself for as long as they were mentally linked - up to five or six different people at a time. With the right training, he could be unbelievably powerful. Reiji had admitted that this might be the case, but he thought it was only right to teach the boy how to be a person before they worried about turning him into a hero. 

And so Reiji had acquired a brother. What had started out as a scientific curiosity had turned into genuine interest, and finally into an intense devotion. Reiji might be distant from his mother and disappointed in his father, but here was someone he could truly love as his family, and he was not going to let anything get in the way of that. No matter how hard it might be, he would find a way to let Reira live a happy life - his _own_ life, and not something forced on him from outside. 

If that meant hiring the occasional ninja, he could only feel that it was all for a good cause. 

They reached the waiting room and found two men, one in red, the other in blue, waiting for him in their own ways. The red one had apparently been doing some sort of limbering up exercise. The blue one had a partially finished cup of coffee and part of a cookie in front of him, and Reiji was almost sorry he had come in when he had. Both ninjas had cloth masks covering the lower halves of their faces, and he found himself wondering what he might have seen if he’d been in time to see the blue ninja biting into his snack. 

“My apologies for having kept you waiting,” said Reiji. 

The red ninja straightened up from his pose. The blue one rose from his seat. Both of them bowed in somewhat unsettling unison. 

“No need to apologize,” said the blue ninja. “We are here to serve in whatever capacity you require. If we must wait, we will wait.” 

“Commendable,” said Reiji. “I believe you know who I am. This is my younger brother, Akaba Reira.” 

The red ninja straightened from his bow. “I am known as Hikage. This is my brother, Tsukikage.” The blue ninja, having been introduced, also straightened up and stood at attention. 

Reiji smiled slightly. It was nice to know his new employees understood the importance of brothers. 

“I take it you understand why you are here already,” he said. “I shouldn’t need to go over it in any detail.” 

“We understood that there had been disappearances at your school,” said Tsukikage. “Our task would be to discover why.” 

“That is your major objective, yes,” said Reiji. 

He would have said more, but Reira had walked a little closer to the table where Tsukikage had been enjoying his snack a moment ago. He pointed at the remaining cookies and looked up imploringly. Reiji couldn’t have said that the ninja smiled, because most of Tsukikage’s face was still hidden, but his eyes suggested that he was indeed smiling behind his mask. He knelt down to pick up a cookie and offer it to Reira. 

“Thank you,” said Reira, and sat down on Tsukikage’s vacated chair to enjoy his treat. 

“I’m glad to see you getting along,” said Reiji. He turned his attention back to his two new hires. “As you can see, my brother is far from the most assertive person in the world. I would like to ask the two of you to guard him as well. I have a duty to my students to defend them as best I can, but - and I would prefer that this did not become public - if you have to choose between one of my students and my brother, protect Reira.” 

“You are our master until this mission is complete,” said Hikage. “Your word is law to us. Your secret will not get out.” 

“Good,” said Reiji. “I would have you know that I am not only acting out of familial affection. What information I have so far suggests that if these students of mine are being captured, rather than simply wandering off of their own volition, the ones being targeted are those who have strong talents but weak characters - those who are likely to yield to threats or flattery. As you can see, my brother is not the most forceful personality, but his talent is immensely strong. Under the wrong circumstances, he could become a danger to everyone in the world, including himself. I have sworn never to let that happen. Do you understand?” 

Hikage nodded. “We will protect him with our lives. You have our word on that.” 

“Good,” said Reiji. “I’m glad we understand each other.” He reached into his pocket and produced a pair of key cards. “These will unlock any door in the building or any of the outbuildings and gates. You will have complete freedom to go anywhere you please, even into areas normally restricted from outsiders - even inside my family’s personal quarters, if that becomes necessary. I only ask that you try to avoid disrupting classes and upsetting the students. The fewer people realize you’re here, the better.” 

“Don’t worry,” said Tsukikage. “I doubt anyone will notice us. We are very good at not being seen.” 

“I’ll leave it to you, then,” said Reiji. “Contact me the moment you have something to report.” 

The ninjas nodded, and... blurred. Within one blink and the next, they were gone, leaving nothing behind but a half-finished cup of coffee. Reira poked at it curiously. 

“I don’t think you’d like that,” said Reiji. “It’s something that takes getting used to. Let’s go down to the kitchen and make chocolate milk instead.” 

Reira gave this suggestion some consideration, then nodded. 

“I like milk,” he agreed, and got up to take his brother’s hand again. “And then can we build castles again, please?” 

Reiji felt a warmth suffuse his chest. It was very rare that Reira asked to do anything at all without being prompted. 

_He is getting better,_ he told himself. _It’s just a matter of time._

Building castles up and knocking them down again might be good fun, but it wasn’t that way for people. Reiji was determined that he would see Reira build himself up, and then _stay_ built. Someday Reiji’s little brother would be healthy and strong, no matter what it took. 

_And if these ninjas can’t do the job, then I’ll take matters into my own hands!_


	4. All Part of the Job

Yuuya rolled over in bed and lay there for a few dreamy minutes before realizing it was _his_ bed. He wasn’t back in the academy, he was at home in Maiami City, and his new life was in front of him. It was a strange feeling. Yesterday, he’d been a student. Today he was an adult with a job - a professional hero, in fact, with one real-world battle under his belt already. Funny how something could change so fast. The thought was enough to wake him up all the way, and he rolled out of bed and went to prepare for the rest of his life. 

He had barely made it downstairs before he was pounced on by his mother. 

“There’s my boy!” she squealed, pulling him into a hug. 

“Aw, mom!” he groaned, but he was grinning anyway. Various animals, sensing a celebration, yapped excitedly or rubbed against their ankles. “I’m not a little boy anymore, I’m a grownup!” 

“I know,” she said. She stepped back a little, holding him at arm’s length. “You’ve grown up so well. I really am proud of you.” 

Yuuya felt himself blushing. To cover his embarrassment, he said, “Did we have all these animals the last time I was here? I remember En and Core and Kilo and Watt, but who are those two?” He pointed at a yellow tabby cat and a floppy mutt that probably had some Cocker Spaniel in its lineage. 

“They’re new since last time,” his mother explained. “The dog is Spot...” 

“Really?” Yuuya murmured. 

“...and the cat is Light.” 

“Should have known,” said Yuuya, with a philosophical shrug. He bent down to pet all the animals in turn. 

“Be sure to wash your hands when you’re done playing with the fuzzies,” said his mother. “I made a special breakfast for you, and then I have a surprise.” 

“What kind of surprise?” Yuuya asked, as one of the dogs began washing his face. 

His mother grinned. “If I told you...” 

“...it wouldn’t be a surprise, I know,” said Yuuya. He laughed. “All right, Mom, I’ll be down in a minute.” 

Once he had duly washed his face and hands for the second time that morning, he sat down at the breakfast table to find that his mother had indeed made his favorite pancakes, along with a stack of sausages and a big bowl of sliced fruit. Definitely a party breakfast, and Yuuya didn’t have to feign his enthusiasm. His mother watched him with maternal approval. 

“I really am proud of you,” she said. “You’re growing up so much like your father.” 

“I’m going to make him proud,” Yuuya promised. He wrestled with himself for a moment before saying, “You know I still think he’s out there somewhere.” 

“So do I,” said his mother softly. “I’m sure I would know if he wasn’t. He’s out there, trying to get back to us. And if anyone can make it happen, you can.” 

Yuuya nodded seriously. He thought about telling her his suspicions about the masked men he’d seen last night, and decided against it. There was being reassuring, and then there was getting someone’s hopes up for no reason. He might be convinced in his own mind, but it would be hard to make anyone else believe what he’d seen. The fact was that there were no clear images anywhere of the man who had made his father disappear. All that remained of him in this world were Yuuya’s memories, which could very well have gotten distorted over the last ten years. It wasn’t like he’d had a lot of time to memorize what he was seeing. He hadn’t known it was important. Still, Yuuya trusted his gut, and right now his instincts were telling him that he was on the right track. After all this time, he had finally picked up the trail, and he was going to follow it until he found his father. 

_Funny I ran into them as soon as I started looking, though. It’s almost like they were there waiting for me..._

It took him a moment to realize that he’d finished his pancakes without even noticing, he’d been so caught up in his thoughts. He looked down at his plate with mild surprise, a little sorry that he hadn’t taken the time to enjoy them more. 

“Had enough?” his mother asked. She was on the edge of her seat now, eager to show off her surprise. Yuuya had been considering asking for a second helping, but now he realized that it would be a bit cruel to make her put things off any longer. Oh well. He could ask for second helpings _after_ his surprise. Anyway, he was curious about it himself, now. 

“I’m good,” he said. “So, what’s the surprise?” 

In response, his mother stood up and walked over to a cabinet. She took down a tea canister, and Yuuya had to fight back a smile. It was one of her old habits to hide small items she didn’t want young Yuuya to find inside that tea canister. He’d long ago figured out it was her favorite hiding spot for things like birthday money and small packets of candy, but he pretended not to know and she pretended not to know he knew. Now she took off the lid and tipped out a small white box, the kind that earrings came in. Yuuya could see that it had been sealed shut with tape long ago, so that it was now slightly yellowed and dusty. 

“Here,” she said, passing the box over to Yuuya. “Open it.” 

Curious now, Yuuya picked at the tape. It flaked away easily. He slid the dusty lid free and spilled the contents of the box onto the kitchen table. It contained a lot of ancient cotton balls, but something within the next of fluff was something that made a soft clink against the table top. He stirred around with a finger until he hooked up a ring of keys. They weren’t car keys, which he’d half been hoping for, but the smaller keys that might be used to open someone’s front door. 

“What are these for?” he asked. 

“Well, you may not remember this,” his mother replied, “but when he was young, back before he and I got married, your father ran a cooperative.” 

“Really?” asked Yuuya. “I don’t remember hearing about that.” 

There were a number of ways that a hero could find the funding to finance themselves. One was simply to be born wealthy. Another was to accept government financing. Other people were funded by large companies, accepting money in exchange for doing testimonials and having their pictures slapped on the front of cereal boxes or beauty products. Still others worked full time jobs elsewhere, and simply fitted in hero work in their free hours. Cooperatives were a common compromise among these options. One or more well-established heroes with reliable income would invite younger, less experienced, and less famous heroes to come work alongside them. Everyone would agree to share out the profits they earned for their hero work, regardless of how much or how little they made. This tended to mean that the older heroes got a bit less than they otherwise might have, but what they got in exchange was a lot of ready backup, and the reassurance of knowing they would have someone to pass the torch along to when they were ready to retire. Eventually, the inexperienced heroes would gain prestige and start earning their own fortunes, and would be ready to start sponsoring the next generation. 

His mother nodded. “He let it drop after he got married and started a family, but we still own the building. I’ve been sort of keeping an eye on it over the years, to make sure it stays in good repair. I knew you were going to be a great hero someday, and you were going to need something to call your home base.” She smiled, a bit wryly. “As much as I’d love to keep you by my side forever, I know it’s not cool to be a pro hero while you’re still living with your mom.” 

Yuuya turned the keys over in his hands. “You’re giving me a building?” 

“Think of as a gift from your father. I know he’d want you to have it,” she replied. “Like I said, it’s in pretty good repair. I’ve been sending someone to give it a dust-up once a month, and I got the internet and everything turned back on last week. It’s not furnished, and it probably needs a lick of paint here and there, but it’s yours to do what you like with. There are hookups for a kitchen and laundry room downstairs and spaces meant for bedrooms upstairs, in case you and your team want to stay there. Of course, I’ll always have a room here for you if you need it...” 

Yuuya got up and hugged his mother. “Mom, you’re the best!” 

She hugged him back. “Yes, I do come through sometimes, don’t I?” 

“I’ll go check it out as soon as we’re done cleaning the dishes,” he said. 

His mother laughed. “Go on. I know how to wash dishes. Go find your friends - they’ll want to see it, too.” She grinned. “And you’re probably going to want some help getting the place to look nice.” 

Yuuya laughed too. “Guess I know what I’m doing today, then.” 

He texted his friends the address, and then set out to have a look at his new domain. He took the long way, strolling along on foot instead of taking to the air. A small part of him was hoping that if he kept to ground level and kept his eyes peeled, he’d spot more of those strange masked men. If they were out and about today, though, they were keeping well away from Yuuya. Still, the walk was refreshing - a good way to limber up and shake the last of the drowsiness from his limbs. He grinned as he saw Gongenzaka and Yuzu waiting at a crosswalk up ahead. 

“Hey, guys!” he called out, picking up his pace. “Glad you could make it!” 

“How could we not?” Yuzu asked. “It’s not every day we get our own building.” 

“This makes us serious pros!” Gongenzaka asserted. “We have our own secret base now!” 

“Well, it’s probably not going to be as secret as all that,” said Yuuya. “I figured we’d make it into an agency, like Dad used to do. I’d like it if people could come here and ask us for help, and maybe someday we’ll be famous enough that other people will want to join us.” 

“Of course they will,” said Gongenzaka. “So I guess we’d better get a look at this place and see what we need to do to get it spruced up.” 

“Well, it should be right up ahead.” Yuuya looked at the address his mother had given him and checked it against the map on his phone. All right, there was the dry cleaner’s, and there was the electronics store, and there was the store that sold floor tile and linoleum, and there... yes, that had to be it. Yuuya paused a moment to take his first good look at his new home away from home. It was bigger than he’d expected. He should have realized it would be - after all, his mother had implied the existence of at least two floors. In fact, there were four in all, and the building looked like it extended a good distance away from the road as well. It reminded him all over again that his father really had been great. No doubt there had been a waiting list of people who wanted to live and work here with him. 

_And now it’s mine,_ he thought. One day soon, perhaps, there would be waiting lists of people ready to come and work with him. 

“It’s nice,” said Yuzu approvingly. 

“It really is,” Yuuya agreed. Despite what his mother had said about making sure it was kept up, he’d been picturing something derelict. This was a handsome brick building with large mullioned windows and a few cornices and pillars and the other bits and bobs that Yuuya didn’t know the names of but which gave a building a bit of personality. The one jarring note was a blank patch of concrete near the door that had clearly held a plaque or sign. Yuuya decided that the very first thing he was going to do once they started dressing this place up was to get a new one. 

Gongenzaka was the first to reach the front door. He walked up the three steps that led to it, but turned and paused. 

“You should do the honors,” he said. “Anyway, you have the key.” 

Yuuya nodded. He took the keys from where they had been nestled in his jacket pocket and began flicking through the key ring. It was an extensive list of keys, offering him access to every door in the building. He finally found the one for the front door and opened it. 

It did not creak, as he’d half-expected, but swung open smoothly. The lights worked too, he discovered, when he flipped a switch just inside the door. The fluorescent bulbs illuminated a room that was not too different from the one where he’d gone just yesterday to be interrogated by the cranky secretary. All this place needed was a desk and some chairs to make a waiting area. 

“It’s kind of empty,” said Yuzu. She wandered over to peer out one of the windows. 

“We can fill it up again,” said Yuuya. He had some money set aside - some of it left to him by his father, some of it given to him by the city. As The Entertainer’s only son and heir apparent, he’d had offers of sponsorships before he’d even gotten out of school. He was sure he could find some reasonably priced furnishings, enough to make this place look functional again. 

Gongenzaka had wandered off to explore the deeper parts of the building. 

“There’s a kitchen in here,” he said. “Or part of one. It’s got a sink, anyway, and a spot to hook up a fridge.” He wandered further down the hall and opened another door. “This looks like a training room. It’s got the same sort of reinforced walls they had at school.” 

“You can move all your exercise equipment in here, then,” said Yuuya. “I know you were saying you were running out of room for everything.” 

“My body is my weapon!” said Gongenzaka, drawing himself up to his full height. “I have to keep it in the best condition possible!” 

“I’m with you there,” said Yuzu. “Hey, Yuuya, are you going to put a trapeze and a trampoline in there?” 

Yuya grinned. “Might as well! Wanna look at the rooms upstairs?” 

They did. Everyone trooped up to the next floor. The upper floors, it appeared, were mainly residences - rows of six identical rooms, three on either side of the hall. Yuuya opened one up and looked inside. 

“Bigger than the dorms back at school,” he observed. “Looks like they have private baths, too.” 

“Nice big closets,” said Yuzu approvingly. 

Yuuya laughed. “Well, Dad understood the uses of a good costume. So, what do you guys think? Mom says we can live in here if we want to. I mean, it’s our building, we can do pretty much whatever we want with it.” 

“It would be kind of nice to have a place of my own,” said Yuzu. “Not that I don’t like living with my dad, but someplace where I can get some privacy might be nice, too.” 

“There won’t be much privacy here if we fill all these rooms,” Gongenzaka observed, “but I know what you mean. I wouldn’t mind having a place I could call my own.” 

“Awesome,” said Yuuya, beaming. “It’ll be like having a sleepover every night!” 

Yuzu smiled and nodded. “It’ll be lots of fun!” 

“So let’s get started, then!” said Yuuya. “We can pick out our own rooms and start painting them and getting them fixed up the way we want, and then we should work on getting the kitchen working, and then we really need to focus on getting the lobby looking good. After that...” He grinned widely. “We’ll be open for business!” 

* * *

Nearly a week had passed since Tsukikage and his brother had begun their vigil, and so far they’d enjoyed little success. True, so far no more students had gone missing, but neither had they caught sight of anything that might have caused them to disappear in the first place. Everything seemed calm and peaceful, perhaps even a little tedious. Certainly Hikage seemed to think so. 

“There’s nothing here,” he said, from his perch on the roof of an outbuilding. “Whatever it was, either it knows we’re here and won’t let us see it, or else it has already finished its purpose here and moved on. Perhaps it was never here at all. Students do run away from school sometimes.” 

“We were hired to be here,” said Tsukikage, who was perched in a tree a few feet away. “That means that, pointless or not, we must continue our vigil until we are given leave to do otherwise.” 

A glimmer of light caught his attention, and he fell silent. He gestured to his brother to do likewise, but Hikage had spotted it too. Both of them focused their gazes on the small side door that had just opened, spilling out a small puddle of light and a single student. Tsukikage thought he recognized him. Over the last few days, he’d gotten to know most of the students who attended this school, and this was one of the ones he’d been keeping a particularly close eye on, because he fit the profile of the other disappearing students so well. He was a boy from the support class, who possessed a pronounced skill with anything to do with microphones, radios, and anything else that could be used to listen or broadcast. He would make a valuable addition to a team someday, if he could just learn how to get along with his peers a bit better. Tsukikage had formed the impression of a painfully shy boy who had used his talents to listen in on other people’s conversations because he’d never been good at having his own. Fortunately, he wasn’t good at hearing things without mechanical aid, and Tsukikage’s keen night vision could detect no sign of such a thing on his person. He edged a little more deeply into the darkness and watched his brother do the same. 

The lone boy continued walking up the long path that led to the school’s back gate. It was an entrance mainly used by delivery people, groundskeepers, and the like - students were discouraged from using it. This student seemed to have a use for it, however, because he walked directly towards it and paused there. It was, Tsukikage thought, less as though he was wondering what to do next, and more as though he were simply waiting for something he was certain would happen. 

Sure enough, after only a minute or two had passed, the gate began to creak slowly open. Five assorted men and women, each in matching uniforms, stepped lightly through the opening to array themselves in a loose semicircle around the student. Tsukikage couldn’t miss the fact that all of them were wearing masks. He did not have anything against masks - he wore one himself, to muffle the sound of his breathing and to obscure his features from the gaze of enemies. Nor did he have an issue with uniforms. All the students in this school wore uniforms, and there was nothing sinister about that either. But seeing masked and uniformed people walking around uninvited in this school in the middle of the night... to his mind, that clearly meant trouble. 

One of the uniformed people, a young woman who seemed to be the leader, approached the student. 

"So, you did come," she said. "Good for you." 

"I had to know if you were for real," the student replied. 

"Oh, we're real," said the woman. "As real as you can imagine. We're pleased that you came out to join us tonight." 

"I don't know what help I could be to you, though..." 

"Of course you can be of help," said one of the young men. "We need people with your skills. We're a small group now - we're growing, but our enemies still outnumber us. People with skills like yours are priceless to us." 

Even from his perch in the tree, Tsukikage could see the way the student stood up a bit straighter at the praise. 

_So Mr. Akaba was right... These people prey on the lonely and the insecure, and flatter them into doing... what?_

Hikage gestured to his brother to get his attention. Tsukikage saw him make a series of hand signs, which conveyed the idea, "Should we intervene?" Tsukikage shook his head. Their orders were simply to watch. As far as Tsukikage could tell, these people weren't offering this boy any immediate harm. His suspicion was that they intended to use him for a definite purpose - that they were being strictly honest when they said they needed someone with his skills. No doubt he would be quite safe with them until someone came to retrieve him. 

He turned his attention back to the scene playing out at the gate. The young woman was saying, "...can come home any time you like. This is all strictly voluntary. You have my word on that, but I think you'll be much happier with us than you were here. I can promise you that we'll appreciate you much more than these people will." 

"So, what do you say?" asked one of the uniformed men. "Want to join up? All you have to do is follow us." 

"I haven't packed or anything..." 

"You don't need to," said the girl. "We'll provide everything you need. Unless there is some object of sentimental attachment you'd like to retrieve? We'll be happy to wait." 

"No, that's okay. I'll go now," the student replied. 

"Right this way, then," said the woman, and held out her arm to usher the student forwards. 

Hikage hissed, "They're getting _away_." 

"Then let them go," said Tsukikage. "We have a mission." 

"You can't expect me to just sit here and watch them abduct that boy!" 

"He's going of his own free will. I don't think they're going to harm him just yet. The best we can do is gather information about them now so we can go rescue him later." 

Hikage's visage hardened. "Well, if you won't do anything, then I will!" 

"Hikage!" Tsukikage reached out a hand to stop his brother, but he might as well have tried to grab the air. He sighed. Reluctantly, he abandoned his hiding place to try to save his brother from doing something even stupider. 

The uniformed people looked up in alarm - but not, Tsukikage was sorry to observe, a very great deal of alarm. 

"So, he's hired watchmen?" one of the men murmured. "Well, we know what to do about that, don't we?" 

The woman said, "Slow them down. I'll get out new recruit to safety. Come on!" 

She grabbed the student's arm and hauled him for the gate. Hikage attempted to block their passage, but one of the other masked men lassoed his arm with some sort of energy whip and hauled him backwards. Hikage twirled in place and jerked at the loop that was holding him back until it burst into a spray of sparkles. 

_So, these people have superpowers, too,_ Tsukikage thought. Well, he'd expected that. He ducked and dodged his way through the forest of reaching hands that were trying to latch on to him, working his way to his brother's side. No one was able to lay so much as a finger on him. Tsukikage had a talent for that; he could wrap the shadows around him like a shield when he chose to, even to the point of slipping partially into them to avoid being touched. On a dark night like this, he was practically untouchable. 

Hikage, on the other hand, had the element of light at his disposal. Now he whipped out a tiny flashlight - a pitiful-looking thing, some would have said, but when he flicked it on, the light flared and hummed like some strange sci-fi weapon. He brandished his sword of light at anyone who got too close. Those who did jumped away from him, yelping as though they'd been burned, which was more or less the case. He could control the intensity of the beam to make it anywhere from a killing blow to a gentle tickle. Tsukikage knew he usually kept it at about one-quarter strength, which was just enough to deal a painful but not serious burn. He'd been on the receiving end enough times to know. 

"Pull back!" one of the masked men ordered. Everyone eased away from Hikage and his burning sword. Tsukikage took the opportunity to step out of the shadows and take his place at his brother's back. This was how it was supposed to be: Hikage attacking, Tsukikage defending. For a moment, he enjoyed a sense of euphoria at the rightness of the situation. As long as they were together, they were invincible. 

"Surrender now," said Hikage, "and things will go easier for you." 

"The Uprising will never surrender!" one of the masked men shouted back. "Even if you defeat us, the rest of our army will still be out there to carry on our mission!" 

"Anyway, it's still five against two," one of the other soldiers added. "You should think about surrendering to us instead of getting cocky." He held up both hands, a purple fireball forming in each hand. "Are you so sure you can take us all?" 

He lobbed a fireball, and Tsukikage quickly moved a shadow to block its path. The fires were swallowed up harmlessly. Hikage slashed with his light sword again, forcing the fire-thrower to dodge out of the way. The man with the energy whips made another try at lassoing Hikage's leg, but Hikage slashed it with his light-sword and shattered it. 

_They're not strong,_ Tsukikage observed. _Maybe we can beat them, after all..._

"Oh, for crying out loud!" That was the young woman, returned from wherever she'd gone with her victim. "Can't you do anything without me?" 

She reached for something at her belt, some small device that Tsukikage couldn't quite identify. Whatever it was, it caused everyone else to move out of the way, so that there was nothing between the girl and the two ninjas. 

"Smile," she said, her own lips twisting into an unpleasant leer. "You're on Candid Camera." 

Then she pointed the object at the two of them. Tsukikage had a fleeting intuition that the mission had just gone, very, very wrong. 

Then he saw the world spin as his brother shoved him out of the way. He was vaguely aware of a bright flash of light, as though the girl had indeed taken Hikage's picture. Tsukikage rolled and sprang to his feet, ready to block an attack. No attack came. All there was, was perfect stillness, plus a small slip of paper that drifted gently out of the air to settle on the grass. Tsukikage stared. It really did look like a photograph; he could see Hikage's startled face staring out of it. Of Hikage himself, there was no sign at all. 

Or... 

The dreadful suspicion settled over Tsukikage just as the woman turned on him and said, "Your turn." 

"Not tonight," said Tsukikage, and leaped straight upwards, vaulting over the school wall and out of her range of vision. From there, he began running around the perimeter of the school, heading back to the front gate. Behind him, he could hear confused shouts. 

"Should we go after him?" 

"Which way did he go?" 

"Never mind. We got what we came for, and a little bonus besides. Somebody pick up that picture and then we can go." 

"You got the boy?" 

"Yeah, that's right. He's going to be one of the good ones, I can tell..." 

Then there was nothing. Tsukikage found a particularly deep shadow and settled himself into it to catch his breath and let his new situation sink in. 

_Stupid._ He didn't know if he was thinking of himself or his brother - Hikage for rushing into a situation without knowing what his enemies could do, or himself for running away without stopping to retrieve that picture. Now his brother was in the hands of his enemies. Tsukikage had never heard of someone with a talent for turning people into photographs, but there were stranger superpowers in the world, and people with the gift of forcing normal machines to do extraordinary things. It was possible that if Tsukikage had retrieved the picture, there would have been some way of changing him back, or that he might have eventually changed back on his own. Now Hikage was in the hands of the enemy, and there was no knowing what they would do with him. Those people had talked like getting the picture was some sort of trophy. Surely they were going to do more with it than just hang it on the wall to admire... 

_I need to tell Mr. Akaba about this,_ he decided. At this point, training won out over everything: he had been hired to collect information by Akaba Reiji, and now he had information. He had to report what he had just seen and see what action his employer wanted him to take next. Perhaps he would want to mount a rescue mission. Perhaps he would decide that Tsukikage had been incompetent and fire him. Tsukikage found that he didn't mind much either way. 

Because whichever way things went, he was determined to go and rescue his brother. 

* * *

The first visitor to the newly re-opened You Show Hero Agency wasn't someone looking for help. 

Yuuya and his friends had settled into a routine. That first day, they'd spent all their energy on repainting their new rooms the way they liked them and getting the downstairs area at least marginally ready for visitors. Over the next couple of days, they'd moved in all their personal belongings and made a few trips to the second-hand furniture stores to buy some inexpensive but serviceable furnishings for their rooms. Once they were sufficiently settled in, Yuuya had hung up a copy of the sign that had originally hung outside, carefully reconstructed by Yuzu from some photos she'd found in her father's scrapbook. Yuuya had arranged for a little advertising - a basic website, a listing in the local hero directory, a couple of commercials - and then they'd sat back to wait for customers. Well, not exactly sat back - they had taken turns manning the front desk while the other two patrolled or worked out in their new training room. What they hadn't done was take any actual calls. Yuuya had almost stopped expecting them by the time someone actually showed up. 

He and Gongenzaka had been sparring in the training room. It had been fitted out with all of Gongenzaka's extensive collection of weights and other workout equipment, but they'd set aside an empty area where they could play-fight without smashing anything. Yuuya had just dodged a wrecking-ball blow that would have felled an oak tree, and was just executing a series of somersaults that would have brought him rebounding off the wall for a flying tackle. Instead, Yuzu put her head through the door. 

"Hey, guys!" she shouted, and Yuuya turned his head, missed his footing, and fell hard onto his rump. 

"Ow," he complained. "Hey, Yuzu, what's up?" He reached up a hand, letting Gongenzaka help him back to his feet. 

"There's a weird guy here to see you," she said. "He says he knows you." 

Yuuya considered whether he knew any weird guys. He concluded that he probably did, but most of them were people he'd met in school, and he didn't think he knew anyone there that Yuzu wouldn't have recognized. 

"Okay," he said. "Just give me a minute to get cleaned up a little." 

"I think he'll wait," said Yuzu. "He seems to like it here." 

And indeed, when Yuuya reappeared, having splashed water on his sweaty face and changed out of his workout clothes and into his official costume, the visitor was strolling around the lobby with his arms behind his back, looking as content as an art lover visiting a museum. His peaceful smile turned into a huge grin when he caught sight of Yuuya. He really was an odd-looking character, Yuuya decided. He was tall and thin, with dark hair and a tiny toothbrush mustache. His suit was red and yellow checks with a green tie, and he was wearing pink tinted sunglasses. Yuuya wondered if the man could really know him; he was sure that if they'd met before, Yuuya would have remembered him. 

But it seemed that even if Yuuya didn't remember, the man certainly knew him. 

"Ahh, Yuuya!" he said. "How wonderful to see you again! You've grown so much, I hardly recognize you." 

Yuuya grinned sheepish. "Ah, thanks, I guess. Um, I hate to ask, but, ah..." 

The man laughed. "Of course, I can't expect you to remember me after all these years. The last time I saw you, you were barely up to your father's knee... Well, I'm Nico Smiley, an old friend of your father's." 

"Were you part of his cooperative?" Yuuya asked, wondering if the man's eccentric clothes were some sort of costume. 

"No, no. I'm a normal - no S-levels at all," said Nico. "No, I was his manager." 

"Manager...?" Yuuya frowned, digging through memories over ten years old. Mentally, he subtracted the sunglasses, took away a few age lines around the eyes and mouth. If you changed the hair style a little, took away the mustache... Yuuya's eyes suddenly lit with recognition. "I remember you! You always used to bring me doughnuts. Chocolate ones, with pink icing and sprinkles." 

Nico laughed, clearly delighted at being remembered. 

"That's right! That was me," he agreed. "I worked with your father, managing his sponsorships, keeping up with his schedule for him, doing publicity work, all the daily drudgery of being a hero that isn't actually hero work. And now, with your permission, I'd like to do the same for you." 

"You would?" Yuuya asked, briefly thrown. He'd come out expecting someone asking for his help. Someone offering to help him was not in the script. 

"Of course. It's the least I can do for the son of my dear old friend," said Nico solemnly. "You're just starting out, after all. You need someone to help you learn the ropes, and I promise, there's no one better at the job than me." 

"Well, I have to admit, I can sure use the help," said Yuuya, "but are you sure you really want to? I can't afford to pay you much right now..." 

Nico waved away the idea of being paid. "We'll work something out. I've been doing this for years now, and I've had my pick of clients ever since we lost your father. I've got plenty stashed away, and I'm sure in a year or two, you'll be doing just as well as your father was. I'll give you easy terms now, and we can re-negotiate in a few months when we have a clearer idea how we'll work together. Shall we say, oh, five percent of your company's earnings? That should suffice for the time being." 

Yuuya did a little mental math and came up with a number he thought he could live with. After all, he reasoned, with Nico working for him, he would no doubt be able to pull in some more business. He was certain this man had a few contacts in the industry by now. 

"Sounds good to me," he said, "but let me talk it over with the rest of my team." 

"But of course. I wouldn't expend it any other way," said Nico. "Was that young lady Hiiragi Shuuzo's daughter? I really must visit him sometime soon." 

"Yeah, that was Yuzu," Yuuya agreed. "I'll go get her." 

He found her and Gongenzaka hanging around the kitchen, sipping sports drinks and chatting. 

"Hey, you'll never guess who that guy is," he said. He helped himself to one of Gon-chan's sports drinks. 

"A man whose superpower is linked to ugly suits?" Yuzu joked. 

Yuuya laughed. "Nah. His name is Nico Smiley, and he was dad's old manager. Ours, too, if we want him. What do you think?" 

"I think anyone who was friends with your dad is probably okay," said Yuzu. 

"Do we know he really was, though?" said Gongenzaka. "He might just be saying that to score points with us." 

"I don't think he is," said Yuuya. "I kinda remember him from when I was little. Anyway, he knew Yuzu's dad, too, and says he wants to say hi to him soon. I don't think he'd do that if he was a fake." 

Yuzu nodded. For one thing, her father was more or less retired from professional heroing, preferring his work as a personal trainer for young heroes, but Hotblood had been pretty fearsome back in the day, and was still prone to setting random fires when he was feeling worked up. Yuuya was very fond of him, seeing the man as a kind of second father, but he tried not to make him mad enough to make him start setting the carpets ablaze by accident. 

"We could use the help," said Gongenzaka thoughtfully. "I'm not opposed to manning the desk if it needs doing, but it's not very heroic. If you think this Nico Smiley is trustworthy, then the man Gongenzaka will accept your judgment." 

Yuzu took out her phone. "I know one way to find out for sure." She tapped a button and waited for someone to answer her call. "Hi, Dad, it's me. Yes, everything is fine here. Yes, I've been taking care of myself. Look, the reason I called... do you remember a guy called Nico Smiley? ... Yeah, that's right. Dark hair, skinny, wears sunglasses indoors. That's the one. Is he any good? ... You think so? Well, you would know. Yes, he is here. Do you want to talk to him? Okay, hang on." 

She pressed the phone to her shoulder to muffle her voice. 

"Dad says he's the real thing," she said. "Speaks highly of him, in fact." 

She walked back into the lobby, closely followed by Yuuya and Gongenzaka. She passed the phone to Mr. Smiley, who had been pacing around the lobby with a measuring tape, taking measurements. 

"Here," she said. "It's my dad. He wants to say hi." 

Nico beamed and took the phone. "Shuuzo? Yes, this is Nico! How good to hear your voice again! How have you been?" 

The two of them began talking animatedly. Yuuya couldn't make out everything Mr. Hiiragi was saying, but he could hear the blare of enthusiastic shouting, and there was laughter on both sides. The two of them seemed to be set to reminisce about old times for hours if given a chance. Yuuya looked at his friends and gave a humorous lift of his eyebrows. 

"Well," he said, "looks like we've got ourselves a manager.”


	5. Shadows and Feathers

A shadow moved among the stars, making them briefly wink out as it passed. A winged figure dropped softly out of the sky onto the roof of a parking garage. A moment later, the shadows of the entry ramp wavered, thickened, and emitted a person in a long dark cloak and dark mask. 

"Any sign of them?" asked Yuuto. 

His companion shook his head. "I don't think so, but I don't have your gift to see in the dark." 

"Well, I didn't see them either," said Yuuto, "but we're still some distance from our target. There's still plenty of time." 

Kurosaki's golden eyes narrowed in anger. "We don't have time to waste. You should know that." 

Yuuto patted his arm. "Don't worry. We'll find them. We'll find her, too." 

"We had better," Kurosaki muttered. 

Yuuto found he didn't have it in him to be comforting. The only thing keeping him even slightly centered just now was that if he let himself off his own leash, he knew Kurosaki would lose control as well, and that wouldn't do either of them any good. At least Yuuto's powers weren't destructive, most of the time. If Kurosaki got angry enough, he could level whole towns, which might help him vent his feelings but wouldn't do any long-term good. 

_We have to keep ourselves steady, at least for now. We can tear things apart when we've found the right things to tear._ He clenched his fist. He would very much like to tear some things apart right now. 

"Do you think we should split up?" Kurosaki asked. "We could cover more ground that way." 

"It's not a bad idea," Yuuto mused. Kurosaki was his best friend, and they had trained together enough that they could fight well side by side, but that didn't change the fact that both of them were quite powerful on their own, and their powers lent themselves well to getting out of scrapes. On the other hand, he hesitated to split the party just now. For one thing, they were both more likely to do something reckless if they weren't together to keep an eye on each other. For another, Yuuto couldn't fight the feeling that if they split up, he wouldn't be able to find Kurosaki again. Deep down, he was afraid that if he let his best friend out of his sight, he'd be taken by the same force that had taken Ruri from them, and they'd never see each other again. 

"Let's search together tonight," he said at length. "If we don't find any clues, then we'll get some rest and some food, and tomorrow we'll see what we can do if we split up. We'll make the LDS School our rendezvous point." 

Kurosaki nodded his understanding. The whole reason they had come to this city in the first place was that their one slender clue as to where Ruri had been taken was that one of the soldiers of the Uprising had dropped a scrap of paper mentioning the LDS School in Maiami City. It hadn’t been much more than a “note to self” sort of thing, a pink sticky note with a few brief words scrawled on it. It might have been left over from months ago. It might have had nothing to do with their mission. It could have been nothing more than a bit of trash from who-knew-where that stuck to the bottom of a shoe, but it was all Yuuto had. It was _all_ Yuuto had, now: this fragile scrap of hope that he could find the people who had taken his best friend’s sister and ruined Yuuto’s life. 

They dropped off the building to ground level: Kurosaki by spreading his wings and gliding, Yuuto by jumping through the shadows. That was the only good thing he could find in this entire mess. Now that he wasn’t in the school any longer, he was free to use his talents as much as he liked. Kurosaki might enjoy the freedom of the sky, but when you were a shadow-jumper like Yuuto, you could go practically anywhere. That was especially true at night. There were few things Yuuto enjoyed more than a bit of night running. Now he let the shadows wrap around him. It was a bit like being gently engulfed in warm feathers. If it hadn’t been so hard to breathe inside the shadows, he’d have happily spent hours there. 

As it was, he was within the darkness for only a second or two before he emerged in a dark corner of the garage. He ambled out onto the sidewalk. Kurosaki dropped out of the sky a moment later and folded his wings around himself. 

“Which way?” Yuuto asked him. 

“Turn left,” his friend replied. “I think I saw movement that way. We should check it out.” 

Yuuto nodded. The two of them started walking, moving silently as they’d learned to do in the past few weeks. It would have been funny if it hadn’t been so awful. Yuuto had imagined himself as a famous hero someday, basking in the spotlight, and instead all he’d learned was how to sneak through the darkness and hunt for something he wasn’t sure existed. 

But there was someone else creeping around this alleyway. Yuuto’s sensitive eyes picked him out the shape of him before Kurosaki did, and he held out an arm to stop him. Someone was prowling around in the shadows. For a moment, Yuuto’s heart beat faster as he wondered if perhaps this time he’d finally gotten a break. Then he realized what he was seeing and nearly had to laugh. This man was dressed in an ornate costume of alternating red and black checks surrounded by a radiating expanse of white lines and circles - a bit like what you’d get if you asked a spider to design a checkerboard. Yuuto felt it was a trifle overdone, but it did get the point across: here was a hero, out doing exactly what Yuuto and Kurosaki were doing, i.e., looking for trouble. 

_We should leave him alone,_ Yuuto thought. _Otherwise..._

“Aha!” said the hero, snapping around to point at them. “I found you!” 

“Oh? Were you looking for us?” Kurosaki asked. “I wasn’t aware anyone in this city knew who we were.” 

Yuuto could have kicked him. Now was not the time to be indulging in sarcasm! 

“I don’t need to know who you are,” said the hero. “You’re sketchy-looking characters slinking around in an alley in the middle of the night, and that tells me everything I need to know.” 

“You’re a sketchy-looking character lurking around an alley in the middle of the night, too,” Kurosaki pointed out. “What does that tell us about you?” 

“Huh?” The hero looked momentarily thrown off his stride. He made a valiant attempt to gather himself again. “Don’t play games with me, villain! I’ll have you know I’m Sawatari Shi... I mean, I’m On Target! Wait, no, I stopped using that one. I mean, I’m Inner Circle... no, I never registered that one, did I? Um... Perfect Throw! Yes! I am Perfect Throw, and I’m here to throw villains like you in the slammer!” 

_Did he really just say that?_ Yuuto wondered. He fought the urge to bury his face in his hands. Of all the heroes he had to run into, he had to find the one who was so stupid he didn’t even know his own name. 

“Are you really?” said Kurosaki. “Would you like to think about it some more and make sure?” 

“Don’t you dare mock me, villain!” the hero shouted back. What had he said his name was? Sawatari something. That was probably his real name, so at least he wasn’t likely to decide it didn’t belong to him. 

“We’d rather not do anything with you,” said Yuuto, trying to steer the conversation back towards something resembling sanity. “We’re not villains, all right? We’re registered heroes . I’m Phantom Knight and this is Raid Raptor. You can look us up in the official registry. We’re here in this city on business, and we have no quarrel with you. Let’s just agree to stay out of each other’s way and get on with our own missions.” 

Sawatari’s eyes narrowed. “And how do I know you are who you say you are? You could just be making up names for all I know!” 

“If we were, it sounds like we’d have something in common,” said Kurosaki under his breath. 

“I heard that!” Sawatari snapped. “All right, I’ve had enough of this! If you’re really heroes, then prove it to me by showing me what you’re made of!” 

Yuuto said, “Actually, we could just show you our registration cards...” 

“Never mind that,” said Kurosaki, unfurling his wings. “This guy is getting on my nerves. I’d like to shut him up properly.” 

“We aren’t here to...” Yuuto began, but his friend had already taken to the air. 

_Oh, great. Here we go. This is why I didn’t want to split up._

“Running away, are you?” Sawatari taunted. 

_No, just gaining altitude,_ Yuuto thought resignedly. 

Most people, looking at Kurosaki Shun, would think that his superpowers were entirely connected to his wings. They were certainly impressive, extending nearly twelve feet from wingtip to wingtip, a glossy iridescent blue-black that echoed the blue and green tints in his hair. He was a good flyer, too, and never shied away from a few fancy tricks if the circumstances merited them. His true power, though, was one people rarely realized until it was too late. His most unique gift was a form of super-strength, but one that depended entirely on speed. Kurosaki standing still could deliver a punch as hard as any other man his size might. The same blow delivered while running would be three times as powerful. And if he flew up high and then allowed himself to drop, he could hit his target like a falling bomb, which was what it looked like he was planning to do to this strange dartboard-man. 

_I didn’t want to blow up any buildings tonight,_ Yuuto thought. 

Well, he would do what he could to stop that. He slipped sideways into the nearest shadow, glided swiftly through the darkness, and popped out next to Sawatari. He grabbed him with both arms in a bear hug. 

“Surrender,” he said. “If you don’t, my friend is probably going to hurt you, and do a lot of collateral damage besides, and I don’t think any of us actually want that.” 

But while this Sawatari might have been stupid, he was apparently not totally untrained. He dropped and twisted, managing to squirm his way out of Yuuto’s grip and shove him away with an outflung arm. With an easy movement that spoke of long practice, he brought out a long metal dart in each hand, apparently producing them out of nowhere. 

_That explains that, then,_ Yuuto thought, as he considered his next move. This person might be annoying, but Yuuto didn’t actually see any need to hurt him. There were more important things they could be doing just now. On the other hand, Sawatari seemed perfectly happy to hurt both of them, and Kurosaki was clearly ready to simply smash whatever was in his path and let the rest sort itself out later. Yuuto needed to think fast. 

He also needed to move fast, because Sawatari had just thrown a dart at him. Yuuto lunged sideways and heard the metallic _ping!_ as it bounced off the wall and ricocheted into the night. He was just starting to relax when he heard a second _ping!_ , and then felt a sharp pain as something jabbed itself into his thigh. He yelped and clutched at his injury. 

“You won’t get away now!” Sawatari boasted. “My darts always hit their target, no matter how you try to dodge!” He turned his attention skyward, to where Kurosaki was still circling to gain height. “And now for your friend up there. Let’s bring him down to earth...” 

“Kurosaki, look out!” Yuuto shouted. 

The dart launched upwards, flashing from silver to green to gold as it picked up the glow of nearby street lights. Kurosaki might not have been able to see it even with his eagle eyes, but he must have known something bad was about to happen, because he went into a roll and slipped sideways in the air. If it had been a normal dart, that would have been enough to save him. Instead, the dart reached its apogee, hung in the air a moment, then turned end over end and plunged back towards Kurosaki. Yuuto didn’t quite see where it hit, but he saw his friend wobble in the air and go into a tailspin, plunging towards the ground. 

“Oh, hell,” he muttered. 

Sawatari looked triumphant. “That will take care of your friend, for sure.” 

“Not exactly,” said Yuuto. “You might want to take cover.” 

Suiting action to words, he slid into a convenient shadow, re-emerging on the far side of the street. He made it just in time. While Sawatari was still looking around in confusion, Kurosaki hit the ground like a lightning bolt. Chunks of shattered pavement fountained up, and a nearby wall cracked and began to collapse. For a moment, everything was still save for a drifting cloud of dust. Then a shadow began moving within the cloud. The dust fled, parted by a sudden gust of wind from Kurosaki’s wings, and he stepped forward with his raptor’s eyes shining gold in the glow of the streetlights. He jerked the metal dart from one of his wings and threw it at Sawatari’s feet. 

“Well,” said Yuuto, “now you’ve gone and made him angry.” 

Sawatari took a few nervous steps backwards. “How... how is he still standing? I saw him - he must have been forty feet in the air! He should have broken half the bones in his body!” 

“He has a knack,” said Yuuto. “The faster he’s going, the more powerful and resilient he becomes. The wings are just there to help him get up to speed.” 

“You want to throw things at me, do you?” Kurosaki growled. “Well, let’s see how you like it.” 

He broke into a run, fanning his wings for extra forward thrust until he was hardly more than a blur. Sawatari lost his nerve. He gave a yelp and tried to run for safety - and only just in time, because an instant after he moved, Kurosaki slammed into the wall behind him hard enough to leave a crater. The wall buckled, and a few bits near the top fell to the ground. 

“Okay, hold up a sec!” Sawatari shouted. He seemed to be realizing what Yuuto and Kurosaki had already worked out: that if you were a fighter who worked best at a distance, it was best not to engage with people who preferred to fight close up. Once Kurosaki got up to speed, Sawatari could lob all the darts he liked and they’d just bounce off, or disintegrate. Some of them might rebound and hit him once he’d stopped moving, but by then, the damage would be done. 

“I tried to warn you,” said Yuuto philosophically. 

Kurosaki was already revving up for another go, but now the dust and noise from their squabble must have attracted attention. Yuuto could hear the sound of sirens, distant now but drawing rapidly closer. 

“Kurosaki, we’re getting company!” he shouted. 

“Just let me finish what I’m doing with this idiot...” 

“No, we need to get out of here!” Yuuto insisted. The sirens were closer now, and he could hear the sound of people shouting - police, or possibly some more of the local heroes. He could see the look of relief on Sawatari’s face as he realized he had backup. “Get going, and we’ll meet up at the rendevous point!” 

Without waiting to see if Kurosaki would comply or not, he faded into the shadows and let himself reappear on top of a shopping center on the other side of the street. He looked down in time to see one of the cracked walls give up and fall down entirely, but amid all the smoke, he was sure he saw a winged figure flapping off into the night in the direction of LDS school. Yuuto stayed where he was; after all, it was doubtful anyone would think to look for him up here, and he had a good view of the action. As he’d suspected, a few policemen and a few more costumed heroes were converging on Sawatari. No doubt the man was already working out a story to tell them about how he’d heroically fended off two villains who had been trying to demolish a parking garage, for some unspecified but no doubt nefarious reason. Perhaps he’d get a medal for defending the city. 

Well, he was welcome to it, so far as Yuuto was concerned. He had more important things to worry about than if one would-be hero decided to take credit for something he hadn’t actually done. 

So, what to do next? Yuuto knew better than to run straight for the rendezvous point. He and Kurosaki had shared the same training, back at the Heartland Institute ( _no, don’t think about that_ ), and so Yuuto knew that Kurosaki would be lying low somewhere. You never ran straight from an incident like this to your safe retreat. Anyone who did that stood a good chance of being followed by their enemies straight back to your allies, and then the trouble would start all over again. No, Kurosaki would be taking evasive maneuvers right now, making sure no one was on his trail. He would be finding somewhere safe and quiet to treat his injuries. It would be an hour or two at least before he’d show up for their pre-arranged meeting. 

_And then I’m going to give him a talking-to,_ Yuuto told himself. _What was he thinking, picking a fight with a hero like this?_ All right, yes, both of them were a little tightly wound right now, and yes, this Sawatari person had been annoying, but this was going to create complications that neither of them needed. They were trying to work by stealth, and now someone with their names and descriptions was going to be telling the locals that they were villains who needed to be watched for. 

_I suppose all we can do is wait and hope the fuss dies down on its own,_ Yuuto thought. He let himself drop to street level again on the other side of the building, away from all the commotion. He smiled a little as he sauntered off into the night. No doubt this Sawatari, or whatever name he called himself by when he was on duty, would convince himself and everyone else that he, personally, had frightened them away. 

_Well, let him,_ he decided. _It isn’t as though Kurosaki and I are going to get into any other trouble while we’re here._

* * *

Kurosaki Shun didn’t know it yet, but he was about to get into trouble. 

Part of the problem was that he wasn’t paying attention. For one thing, his wing hurt. The puncture left by the dart hadn’t bled much, but it had been deep, and now his left wing was aching fiercely. He doubted he would be wanting to do any fancy flying for a few days, until he could either find a good healer or it healed up on its own. Unfortunately, it was hard to bandage his wings without interfering with the feathers, so he’d been forced to simply dab a little antibiotic cream on the wound and leave it at that. For another, he was annoyed at that Sawatari character, and even more annoyed at himself. He shouldn’t have lost his temper, but he was strung out from days of worry, of bad sleep and bad food, and of general frustration. He’d wanted to take it out on somebody, and Sawatari had looked like a good choice. 

_Anyone who goes around with a dartboard on his chest is just begging to be a target anyway,_ he thought, as he trudged his way up to the front of the LDS School. He cast a jaded eye over the sign that hung over the gates: _Leadership, Discipleship, Scholarship._ It was, he felt, more than a bit pretentious. It certainly wasn’t as welcoming as good old H.I., except that Heartland Institute might never be welcoming anyone past its gates again. 

_Enough of that,_ he told himself sternly. Right now, his problem was to get onto the school grounds and find someplace to settle down and wait for Yuuto. That was the plan: if they got separated, go to the school, settle down, and wait. Yuuto was good at tracking people simply by the shape and texture of their shadows. He would find Shun more easily than Shun could find him, so it was Shun’s job to wait and be found. 

With a small grunt at the pain, he flapped his way over the tall fence and began exploring the grounds. He was forced, grudgingly, to admit that they weren’t bad, all things considered. They at least had a nice selection of landscaping - trees and flower beds and whatnot - and in the distance he could see the fences of some outdoor training areas that he wouldn’t have minded a go at himself. It looked like there were plenty of places around here where he might hide and rest his aching wing for a while. Perhaps under those shrubs - they looked nice and dark, just the kind of place that Yuuto might favor... 

A soft whisper of wind was his only warning before something spiraled out of the night and looped around him like a constricting snake. He yelped and tried frantically to twist his way out of whatever it was, but a second cord had already shot out and lassoed his ankles. Now he had thin metallic cords wrapped around his legs and pinning his arms and wings in place. In the time it took to draw a breath, he’d been rendered utterly helpless. 

A dark figure appeared next to him, as smoothly as Yuuto might have done, but it wasn’t Yuuto. Shun was willing to bet they weren’t a friend, either. 

“You aren’t supposed to be here,” it said sternly. 

“Well, I am,” said Shun. “Who the hell are you?” 

“I’m the one guarding this building,” said his captor, “and I’m taking you to see the headmaster.” 

“Good,” said Shun. “I have some questions I’d like to ask him.” 

The dark figure untied the loops around his ankles and re-fastened the cord so that it was now tied to only one of them, allowing him to walk but not to get very far from the man who held him. The cords around his wings and arms stayed where they were. 

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to loosen these cords, would you?” he asked, as he was marched into the building. “They’re hurting my wings.” 

“Apologies,” said his captor. His voice did not sound particularly unkind - indeed, he sounded genuinely sorry to have troubled him. “But I’m afraid I can’t have you getting away just yet.” 

They stepped through a side door, and in the light of the hallway, Shun could see that he was being escorted by a lean man dressed like a ninja. Well, that probably explained how he had crept up on Shun so easily. Perhaps his powers were similar to Yuuto’s. 

_I should have guessed this place would have security,_ he thought. Well, at least now he was apparently going to meet whoever the boss was around here. Perhaps some useful conversation would come of it. 

They marched together to an elevator and rode up several floors. Shun toyed with the idea of attempting to body-slam his captor against the walls, twist his way out of his bonds, and escape through the roof, and discarded the plan. He had a feeling that this character, who stood so calmly and watchfully next to him, would not be any sort of pushover, and that any attempt to start something with him would end badly. Maybe if it had been an even fight, but with Shun starting off in a position of weakness... well, better to go along with him for now. 

They reached the top floor. The ninja marched Shun along a hallway that was richly furnished in terms of carpeting and important-looking art prints, but sparse in terms of doors. The rooms here must be impressively large. This, then, was where the school’s owners went during their downtime. It might even be their regular living quarters. Shun wondered, with some amusement, if he was about to meet the headmaster in his bathrobe and slippers. 

The ninja tapped on one of the doors. 

“Headmaster, are you in?” he asked. “I’ve captured an intruder.” 

“Have you? How interesting,” said a voice inside. “All right, let’s have a look at him.” 

The ninja opened the door, and Shun let himself be dragged into what turned out to be a pleasant if rather stark sitting room. It had a deep gray carpet and pale gray walls, the better to show off a few colorful works of abstract art. The furniture was modern, involving lots of glass and chrome that swooped and bent in unexpected directions. An impressively large entertainment system dominated one wall. At the center of the room was a square-cut black leather sofa, and perched coolly in the middle of that was the headmaster. 

He was not what Shun had been expecting. The word “headmaster”, in his mind, conjured up the image of a large middle-aged man, someone florid and balding with a large belly and possibly a beard. This man was probably no older than twenty-five, slender and somewhat ascetic, with sharp features and keen eyes that were enhanced by a forbidding pair of glasses. He was dressed simply, in a dark blue turtleneck and pale gray slacks that made him almost seem like another part of the furniture. The only off note was a flamboyant red scarf that trailed nearly to the floor. Nevertheless, there was never so much as a moment’s doubt in Shun’s mind that he was in the presence of the headmaster. Everything about this man’s still, calm expression conveyed control. 

“Well, well,” said the headmaster. “What have we here? A rare bird, indeed. How did you come to find him, Tsukikage?” 

“He was wandering around in the gardens, Mr. Akaba,” Tsukikage answered. “I could tell he didn’t belong here, so I brought him to you for questioning.” 

“Thank you, Tsukikage,” said the headmaster. “I’ll take it from here. You can return to your duties.” 

A flicker of worry crossed the ninja’s face. He didn’t seem to like to leave a client alone with an unknown and suspicious character. Still, he said obediently, “Of course, sir. Please call if you have any further need of me.” 

Then he was gone. Shun didn’t see him go, which might have unnerved someone who wasn’t already used to Yuuto’s way of coming and going. Instead, he simply stared at this Akaba person, sizing him up. 

“So, are you going to untie me or what?” asked Shun. “Because I’ve had a hard week and my wings hurt, and these cables aren’t making it any better.” 

Akaba smirked. “If you like.” 

He made a little gesture with one hand. Shun instantly felt his bonds slacken and fall to the floor. He tried not to let his reaction show, but something must have gotten through, because the smirk grew more pronounced. 

“So, you didn’t know I had powers, did you?” Akaba asked. “You should have realized. I didn’t become headmaster of this school just through money and connections. I am Akaba Reiji, son of the famous Akaba Leo, and I am every bit the hero he was if not more so. I just don’t care to go splashing everything I can do all over the evening news.” 

“But you still go hiring ninjas to patrol your grounds?” Shun challenged. 

Akaba’s cool didn’t falter. “I can’t be everywhere all the time, and Tsukikage is a good and faithful employee. He’s also got personal reasons for wanting to do a good job, which may explain why he was a bit rough with you.” He gestured to a chair across from him. “Please, sit down, and tell me why you were nosing around my school in the middle of the night.” 

“Technically, it’s only about nine in the evening,” said Shun, but he sat down anyway. He was tired, and the chair looked comfortable. 

“So it is,” said Akaba. “A good time of day for a nightcap. I was about to send for a drink. Would you like one?” 

Shun shrugged, then winced as his injured wing protested the movement. “I’d rather have a painkiller, if you’ve got one handy.” 

“I will send for my healer directly,” said Akaba. He slipped a device out of his pocket and spoke into it briefly, requesting that suitable refreshments be sent up. Then he turned his attention back to Shun. “So, who are you, and why are you here?” 

Shun weighed the merits of lying, decided that there weren’t any, and said, “My name is Kurosaki Shun. I was born in Heartland City, and I came here because I’m trying to find my sister.” 

“Kurosaki,” Akaba murmured. “Well, I know we have a few Kurosakis at this school, but...” 

Shun shook his head. “I don’t mean she’s enrolled here. It’s just...” He trailed off, trying to think how to begin. “Well, you’re headmaster here. You must have heard of the Heartland Institute.” 

Akaba nodded. “I did, but I’m afraid the details never reached me. It closed recently, yes? Under rather vague circumstances.” 

“They weren’t vague, they were hushed up,” Shun snapped. He took a deep breath, forcing himself back under control. “The fact of the matter is, people were disappearing. Students just vanished without a trace, sometimes in the middle of the day. The school couldn’t find the source of the problem, and finally the pressure from parents got to be too much. They paid out settlements to the parents who’d lost their children, and they closed their doors.” His hands clenched. “My sister was one of those who disappeared. My friend Yuuto... he’s an orphan, raised by the school. It was the only home he’d ever had, the only _family_ he ever had, and now he’s lost everything. He and I have been working together to try to find out what happened. The trail led us this far. So now I want to hear from you: what do you know about students disappearing from schools?” 

Akaba was silent for a while, he leaned back in his seat, idly pushing his glasses up his nose. It might have been Shun’s imagination, but he thought he saw the trailing ends of his scarf move in a way that gravity couldn’t quite explain. 

“I probably know about as much as you do,” said Akaba, “or possibly just a bit more. You see, I, too, have seen a spate of disappearances. Several of my students have gone missing recently. The ever-watchful Tsukikage was able to spot one of these disappearances in progress. According to his report, several young men and women in masks and military-style uniforms entered the school under cover of darkness and persuaded a student to come away with them to some unknown destination. Tsukikage’s brother Hikage was also taken by force, utilizing some sort of weapon that could transform people into photographs.” 

Shun was dubious. “Can something really do that?” 

“I have some guesses as to how it might be achieved, yes,” said Akaba, stroking the hem of his scarf. “So, it would seem that you and I have a common interest. Of course, I have no way of knowing if you are who you say you are...” 

“I have an ID,” said Shun. He reached into his pocket and flashed his hero license. 

“Very nice,” said Akaba dryly, “but we have some information that suggests that these visitors have IDs of their own - possibly false, possibly not. We also know that at least some of the people who were taken from their schools went of their own free will. It is entirely possible that you are one of those people.” 

“Well, I’m not,” said Shun sulkily. “I just want to find my sister, that’s all. She’s been missing for weeks, and I know she wouldn’t have gone off like this on her own without telling me. She’s not that sort of person. I don’t care _what_ these goons might have offered her, she wouldn’t leave without telling me.” 

Akaba looked at him for a long moment. 

“I think I believe you,” he said. “I’m a brother, too. I know I would move heaven and earth if something happened to my own little brother. Say I’m fantasizing if you will, but I think I see the same signs in you.” 

Shun relaxed just a tiny bit. “I’m not here for any reason that concerns you. I’m just here to wait for my friend. We agreed to rendezvous here because we thought we might find some clue to where those guys went.” 

“Well, you’ve found one,” said Akaba. He was thoughtful for a moment. “So, you say you were a student recently?” 

Shun nodded. “The school let us test for our licenses before it shut down, but yes, I probably would have stayed enrolled a while longer if it hadn’t shut down.” 

“Hmm,” said Akaba thoughtfully. “I think perhaps it would be a kind gesture for my school to offer continuing education for those students who have lost their place in Heartland.” 

“I already have my licence, though,” Shun pointed out. 

“Yes, but no one around here knows that, and you don’t have to tell them,” said Akaba. “Listen. What I’m offering you isn’t nice, but I think you have the spine for it. From what I’ve been able to gather, these people tend to prey particularly on those with strong talents but who are socially isolated, or who perhaps feel they have been given short shrift in some way. A new student, still bitter at having lost his school and being forced to move away from his home and friends, one who doesn’t fit in easily here and keeps to himself, would be a tempting target, perhaps.” 

“I see what you’re getting at,” said Shun. “You’d offer to let me stay here as a student if I act the part and try to lure these people into coming for me so you can lay a trap for them.” 

“More or less, yes,” said Akaba. “Although since the last student to leave us appeared to go voluntarily, my hope is that you will be approached by these people first, and that perhaps you will be able to learn something about them before they make you a final offer.” 

Shun nodded. “What about Yuuto?” 

“If your friend is trustworthy, then I am willing to extend to him the same offer,” said Akaba smoothly. “In the meantime, I give you permission to wait out in the garden for him until he gets here, assuming he isn’t already there waiting for you, although I think if that were the case, Tsukikage would have brought him here by now.” 

“Fine,” said Shun. 

Akaba raised one silver eyebrow. “Fine, you agree to wait in the garden?” 

“I mean, fine, I accept your offer,” said Shun. “I’ll be your bait.” 

“Excellent,” said Akaba. “I’ll see about arranging a room and paperwork for you. I’ll send my ninja along to collect you when everything is ready, and I will send the healer along to your new room to look at your injury.” 

Shun barely heard him. Excitement was beginning to well up inside him. He had made it. This was the place that those people were targeting. They would come back, and he would be ready for them this time. 

_And then I’ll follow them all the way back to Ruri!_


	6. Bad Boy

Yuuya had to admit that weird as the man was, Nico Smiley was also useful. In fact, Yuuya found it hard to believe that he and his team had thought they could manage without someone like him. Within twenty-four hours of settling in, he’d turned their rough-and-ready waiting room into something that looked halfway professional. He’d brought in some throw rugs and lamps and better furniture, which Yuuya suspected were his own belongings. He’d hired a plant service and rented some large potted plants, and had hung a lot of pictures on the walls of famous heroes who had worked there in days gone by. The more prominent of these was displayed directly behind what had become his desk: a large framed photo showing The Entertainer, Hotblood, and The Innovator - in other words, Yuuya’s father and his two best friends from the olden days. Yuuya suspected that the reason this photo was so prominently displayed was that it had been taken in this very building, and a younger version of Nico himself could be seen working diligently in the background while his employers smiled for the camera. Perhaps it was a good choice. Anyone who saw it would be able to connect the dots and realize that while the original team might be gone, there was still a sense of continuity here, a sense that old traditions were still being carried on. 

More importantly, he knew how to look after heroes. Ever since Nico had joined the squad, the fridge was always filled with sports drinks and protein shakes, and there were always healthy snacks ready and laid out on the counter. Nico answered the phones, chatted with walk-in clients, turned their website into something people might actually take seriously, and spent his free time chatting with potential sponsors and advertisers. When all three of the heroes were out in the field, he also served as a coordinator, relaying messages between them and alerting them if something important had come up on the news that they could help with. Yuuya was always a little sorry to see him go home at the end of the day. 

_Once we’ve got some more money coming in, we’ll have to think about hiring a night shift,_ he mused. He was in the training room, practicing his knife throwing. The target on the wall in front of him was speckled with punctures where he’d hit it, and a few more where he hadn’t quite been on the mark. Back at school, he’d practiced for at least half an hour every day, and he scolded himself for letting himself get sloppy now that he was managing his own time. 

The sound of someone knocking on the doorframe preceded Nico leaning around it to peer inside. 

“Oh, there you are,” he said. “There’s a young man out in the lobby who asked to speak to you personally.” 

“Okay,” said Yuuya. He tossed the last of his knives, which struck squarely in the bull’s-eye, and wandered into the lobby to see what was going on now. 

What he found was a young teenaged boy, sprawled in one of the chairs and licking a lollipop. Yuuya’s first thought was that he’d gotten separated from his parents somehow, but the boy didn’t seem to be in any particular distress. He was just sitting there, looking around the room with keen interest. When he noticed Yuuya, his face lit up. 

“Wow, so you’re The Entertainer! That’s really cool! Can you do circus tricks like your dad?” 

Yuuya smiled a little. “Yeah, I can do circus tricks.” 

“Wow! I want to see!” the boy exclaimed, radiating delight. 

“Is that what you came here for? To see me put on a circus for you?” Yuuya asked. Well, it wasn’t like he was doing anything else important just now. It would probably be good practice. 

The boy shook his head. “No. I came to work for you.” 

“Huh?” Yuuya stared. Now that he was looking hard, he had decided that the boy probably wasn’t as young as he looked - maybe around fifteen or so - but he was on the short side and had the sort of round face and wide eyes that made him seem younger than he was. Even so, it didn’t seem likely that someone so young already had a license. 

“I’m Shiun’in Sora. I go to LDS,” the boy explained. “They told me I’m ready to do an internship, and they recommended I ask you guys if you’d take me on.” 

Yuuya took this in. LDS was indeed well known for its internship programs - the “D” in their name stood for “discipleship”, a reference to their philosophy of making sure their students had as many chances as possible to work in the field with accredited heroes. Technically, Yuuya and his friends were accredited heroes, which meant they could offer internships if they wanted to. It was still a surprise that they’d spring something like this on him without consulting him first. 

“What can you do?” he asked, stalling for time. 

In response, the boy took the lollipop out of his mouth and tossed it into the air. It hung there for a moment, then disintegrated into lime green dust. The dust swirled around a bit before forming itself into a dart, which whizzed across the room to shatter against the concrete wall. 

“I’ll thank you to clean that up,” said Nico, without looking up from his computer. 

Sora grinned and made a come-here gesture, and all the green sugar dust obligingly gathered itself up and dropped into the nearest wastepaper basket. 

“I’m a sugar manipulator,” he explained. “Anything with a lot of sugar in it, I can make it do what I want. Also, I get stronger and faster and stuff if I’ve been eating sugar lately, and I can conjure things made out of sugar until my energy boost runs out.” 

“Ah. That explains the lollipops,” said Yuuya, as he watched his new friend take a fresh lollipop out of a bag at his belt and pop it into his mouth. 

“Yup!” said Sora cheerfully. “Lollipops are the best. And hard candy and stuff that dissolves slowly. If I don’t get enough sugar to eat every day, I start getting weak and sick, but if I get too much at once, I start getting silly.” 

“How do you mean, silly?” 

Sora looked slightly embarrassed. “You know. Like grownups do when they’ve been drinking. Silly. Acting goofy and thinking I’m invincible and wanting to pick fights with people and stuff.” 

Yuuya nodded. “So, more power but less control.” It made sense. Sucking on lollipops all day would give him a slow, steady supply of power without pushing him over the tipping point into inebriation. 

“So, how come you want to work here?” he asked. “I mean, we just opened, and we don’t get a lot of business here yet. I don’t know if we have a lot for you to do.” 

Sora shrugged. “You can make cotton candy, right? And cream pies and stuff. You were the only person in the city whose powers are anything at all like mine.” 

“Okay, that’s a point,” Yuuya agreed. “All right, I guess you can show your paperwork to Nico there, and he’ll get it sorted out for you.” 

“Yay!” Sora cheered. 

He bounced over to the desk and began fishing paperwork out of a bag. Yuuya watched long enough to see that he really did have his forms and an LDS student ID card. Then he wandered off to call his friends and let them know they’d be getting company. 

If he had stayed to watch a little bit longer, he might have seen how Sora smiled. 

* * *

Sora had known all his life that he was a Bad Boy. 

One of his earliest memories was of his mother leaving him alone in his playpen when she had been vacuuming in another room. Even he wasn’t sure how he’d done it, but somehow he’d managed to get out of his playpen and toddle his way into the kitchen, where he’d opened a low cabinet door and pulled out a blue and white paper bag. Some minutes later, his mother had found him sitting on the floor surrounded by a small ring of white dust, his face and hands sticky, as he shoveled handfuls of sugar into his mouth. He could still hear her voice ringing in his ears. 

“Sora, you _bad boy!_ ” 

That had been where it started. When he’d been small, his parents had found it somewhat amusing how sugar-motivated their child was, and how easily they could persuade him to do anything they needed him to do just by offering him a lollipop in exchange. However, as he grew older, they started to realize they had a problem on their hands. Once he was old enough to walk easily and tall enough that he could start reaching for things, there was simply no stopping him. It didn’t matter if it was a slice of cake left out on the counter, a box of cookies stashed in the cupboard, a package of anniversary chocolates hidden on the top shelf of the closet, or a carton of ice cream hidden in the back of the freezer in a brown bag labeled “tofu”. No matter how well it was hidden, anything sugary and sweet seemed to call out to him, and neither scolding nor punishment would deter him from finding it and eating it. 

“I know sweet things taste nice,” said his mother, on more than one occasion, “but they’re not _good_ for you. They’ll rot your teeth, and you’ll get fat. You don’t want that, do you?” 

Sora hadn’t seen the problem with it, actually. As far as he could see, fat people got on with their lives the same as thin people did - went to school and got jobs and had families and so forth. He had gone to his father for further elucidation. 

“Well,” said his father jocularly, “if you go and let yourself get fat, you’ll have a harder time getting a girlfriend someday.” 

At eight years old, that didn’t seem like a particularly dire threat to young Sora. He didn’t see much use in girls. If anyone had asked him, he’d have happily given up any contact with them in exchange for being allowed to eat what he liked. Anyway, his mother wasn’t as svelte as she’d been in her old wedding photos, and his father had developed a bit of a paunch, and they still seemed happy enough with each other. It was all a bit of a mystery. 

Gradually, his parents had started simply not keeping sugary things in the house. At first, that seemed to work, until they realized that all they’d done was cause him to get sneakier. He started stealing the desserts from his schoolmates’ lunch boxes, and shoplifting candy from convenience stores. Taking him to the grocery store was a never-ending trial, because the moment his mother took her eye off him, he’d have gravitated to the nearest supply of cookies or candy and started eating as though his life depended on it. Pretty soon, he wasn’t allowed to go anywhere but school and his room. 

Over and over, his parents told him that stealing was wrong, and that sugar was bad for him, and why couldn’t he just _stop_ this already? And he would look into their distressed faces and promise himself that this time he would do better. It was just that the moment anything sweet came into his vicinity, some instinct took over and he found himself doing things he hadn’t intended to do. It mystified him. Other people did not seem to have this problem. No one else seemed to have this strange driving force that made him do things that he’d made up his mind not to, and which made his family and friends so upset. In the end, he decided that this was simply because he was a Bad Boy. 

And this was sad, because he was also a sickly one. It seemed like he was constantly falling ill of some mysterious malady that no amount of doctors knew how to treat. He’d be all right for a while, and then suddenly he’d come over weak and feverish, too dizzy to walk straight. He’d be put to bed and nursed along with soup and popsicles and jello until he’d recover as mysteriously as he’d fallen ill. His parents took him to specialist after specialist, who poked and prodded him and assured his parents that there was absolutely nothing the matter with him. They said it was allergies, or colds, or some other minor little ailment that any child could have, but no one could explain why these things happened to him so constantly. He knew he worried his parents, and wished he knew what was wrong with him so he could make it stop. 

The turning point had come one day when one of his classmates had been celebrating a birthday, whose mother had brought a box of two dozen cupcakes to share with the class. Sora had coveted those cupcakes with a ferocity that nearly sent him catapulting from his chair to snatch them up right away. Instead, he’d fidgeted and forced himself to bide his time until recess. When the other students and the teacher were all outside, he’d slipped back into the classroom and pried the lid off the cupcake box. 

What happened when the teacher came back didn’t bear remembering. Thee had been a lot of shouting, and other students crying because their cupcakes had been eaten up, and Sora being dragged to the principal to be shouted at some more, and finally being sent home in disgrace. He tried not to remember, too, what had happened when his father got home. That had been the first time in his life when his parents had been angry enough to hit him. 

In the end, he’d been suspended from school for a few days, and his parents had locked him in his room except for meals. That was when he’d gotten sick, sicker than he ever had before. His parents had rushed him to a hospital, where the staff had struggled to bring him to some sort of equilibrium. 

That was when a nurse accidentally saved his life. She had brought him his meal, which included a popsicle. Someone less observant might have seen him ignore his soup and reach for the popsicle, and assumed that like any boy he preferred his dessert to actual healthy food. She, on the other hand, had seen how he’d instantly perked up from the moment the stick of frozen sugar water touched his lips. She sat and watched his fever drop and his vital signs improve over the next thirty seconds, which was how long it took him to finish. Then she’d calmly gone to the kitchen and demanded more popsicles, and then she’d gone for a doctor. The doctor had watched Sora eating popsicles for a while, and then he’d gone to Sora’s parents and said the words that had changed his entire life: 

“I think I know a specialist who can help him.” 

The specialist’s name was Mokota Michio, and the next day, Sora found himself strapped into the car and riding to the Mokota Institute of Nutritional Studies. At the time, he had no idea what to expect, and considered this to be only another annoying visit to the doctor, something to be gotten over with as quickly as possible so he could get back to some semblance of normalcy. Indeed, he did spend a few minutes being poked and prodded by the doctor, but Sora had undergone worse in the past. The doctor himself was a pleasant man with red hair and freckles who smiled and joked as he worked. There was an air of quiet confidence behind that smile, though, that made Sora trust him. Here, he felt, was at last a man who knew what he was doing, and he began to hope that he might at last get some reasonable answers to why he kept getting sick. 

When the checkup was done, Doctor Mokota went to a small fridge, poured a glass of something translucent and purple, and passed it to Sora. 

“Here,” he said. “Drink that up. It’ll do you good.” 

Sora regarded the purple stuff cautiously. “What’s in it?” 

The doctor smiled. “Water. Sugar. Artificial coloring and flavoring. It’s just fruit punch.” 

Reassured, Sora took a deep gulp. It did made him feel better. The doctor watched him swig it down, and when Sora had finished, he nodded as though something important had happened and wandered over to a cabinet to rummage around inside. He came out with a lollipop - not one of the tiny transparent bits of colored sugar on cardboard sticks that most doctors gave out, but a proper, old-fashioned lollipop, a swirl of rainbows nearly six inches across. He passed it to Sora. 

“That should keep you busy for a while,” he said. 

“So you know what’s wrong with me?” Sora asked, or tried to, around a mouthful of lollipop. 

The doctor smiled. “There’s nothing _wrong_ with you. There is something wrong with the way you’ve been treated up until now, but that’s something we can change. There’s no reason why you should ever have to get sick like this again.” 

“Really?” Sora brightened. 

“Absolutely. I just want to bring your mother in here so we can talk about it together...” 

Sora’s mother was ushered in. She cast a disapproving look at the lollipop, but kept her mouth shut, instead choosing to focus on the doctor. He sat her down in a chair before sitting down across from her. 

“Well, Mrs. Shiun’in, I have some good news,” he said. “I have examined your son, and I think it’s safe to say that we can prevent him from getting ill like this again. As you suspected, his issues are dietary, and that means with a corrected diet, you should see no more problems.” 

“Are you sure?” asked Sora’s mother dubiously. “We’ve always been careful to feed him healthy food.” 

“It’s not so much a matter of healthy or unhealthy,” said the doctor. “Did they tell you when they sent you here what my specialty is?” 

“They said you were a nutritionist...” 

“Yes, but a highly specialized one,” he replied. “Specifically, I work with people with superpowers. Sometimes supers have special dietary needs that don’t fit within the normal limits of human parameters. For example, I have one client who takes four spoonfuls of crushed concrete in his morning protein shake. I have clients who photosynthesize, clients who like iron filings sprinkled on their cornflakes, and clients whose superpowers change depending on what they’ve been eating lately. It turns out that diet is very important for the average super, and not everyone understands the complexities of it.” 

“But our Sora isn’t a super,” said Sora’s mother. “We’ve had him tested. His S-levels barely registered...” 

“Did you test them at a doctor’s office while he was sick?” the doctor asked keenly. 

“Well, yes... we thought, as long as we were there...” 

“Well, let’s test him now,” said the doctor. He took down a little machine, inserted a clean needle, and held up his own hand. “Just to prove I’m not trying to flimflam you. You will note that my official records give my S-levels as two hundred and twelve.” He pressed the needle to his finger and let the machine hum. The number “212" appeared on the screen. Satisfied, he removed the needle and put in a fresh one. 

“Now it’s your turn,” he told Sora. 

Sora obligingly held out a hand. The doctor had given him a lollipop the size of his head; he could have a little blood if he wanted it. 

The machine hummed a moment. Then the number “427" appeared on the screen. 

“You see?” said the doctor. “It’s just as I suspected. He has superpowers - good strong ones.” 

“I don’t understand,” said Sora’s mother. “We had him _tested_ , and results aren’t supposed to change like that.” 

“For the average person under average circumstances, they don’t,” said the doctor. “But my studies have shown that some powers are contingent on what you might call vital sources - for example, someone whose powers only work in sunlight, or after they’ve been drinking cola. Keep them away from the source of their powers for too long, and their powers stop working and their S-levels plummet, usually with associated illness - the same kind your son has been displaying. Luckily, my superpower is to tell at a glance if someone is missing a vital nutrient and what they need to be eating to stay healthy.” He leaned forward and looked seriously at Sora’s mother. “Ma’am, I believe that your son’s superpower is linked to sugar somehow. You told me that you make sure he’s eating a healthy diet. I assume this means that you’ve been carefully rationing his sugar intake?” 

“That’s right,” she said confusedly. “We hardly ever let him have sugar. He’s always... always had such a sweet tooth...” She trailed off as the sense of what she was saying dawned on him. “Are you trying to tell me he’s been getting sick _because_ we haven’t been letting him have sugar?” 

“That’s right,” said the doctor. “I understand that you were just doing your best for him, but his needs are unique. Frankly, I don’t think it’s possible for you to give him too much sugar.” He smiled. “He’s a lucky boy - the only one I know who can eat cake and ice cream for every meal and get away with it.” 

“Is that really something that can happen?” Sora’s mother asked. “Someone getting superpowers just by eating things?” 

“Well, it’s a little more complex than that,” said the doctor, “but basically, yes. There’s Bubble Pop, who gets her powers from drinking soda, and Ghost Pepper, who can breathe fire after eating spicy foods, and Barracuda, who can swim underwater without needing to breathe when he’s been eating fish, and there’s a man in India who becomes temporarily clairvoyant every time he drinks a cup of tea. Superpowers are incredibly varied things. If you look long enough, you can find someone who can do anything.” 

“I see,” she said slowly. “So sugar gives him superpowers...” 

“I wouldn’t think of it like that,” said the doctor. “He _has_ superpowers. Sugar is simply the trigger that activates them. Best to say that he has unique nutritional needs and leave it at that. I’ve written up a suggested meal schedule that I think will work for him, but let me know if you run into any further troubles and I’ll see what I can do to adjust it.” 

He handed Sora’s mother a manilla folder full of papers. Sora saw his mother flip through it, a few words catching his eye. There were things written in it like, “Monday: Breakfast - pancakes w/strawberries & whipped cream, hot cocoa.” He began to feel a cautious lifting of his spirits. He wasn’t going to be sick any more, not ever again. He was going to be able to eat the things he felt, instinctively, that he needed to be eating. He wouldn’t have to steal anymore. Maybe he could make friends at school, now that he no longer had to filch from their lunch boxes every day. He wouldn’t be scolded yet again for taking candy bars from the supermarket. And he was going to be a superhero! Life couldn’t get any better. He was walking on air as his mother finally led him out of the consulting office and back towards the car. 

But she stopped on the way there to dump the entire folder full of papers into a trash can. 

“Hey!” Sora yelped. “The doctor gave you that!” 

“That man is a quack,” she said. “I can’t believe anyone listens to him. That menu was practically nothing but sugar, and you know sugar is bad for you.” 

“It isn’t! He said so! He said not getting any sugar is why I kept getting sick!” Sora was almost crying now. “He said I need them to be a superhero!” 

“You are not going to be a superhero,” his mother said. “I don’t know what kind of tricks he was playing in there, but you’ve never had powers before and you don’t have them now. Anyway, even if he’s telling the truth, then the best thing to do for you would be to keep you from using them.” 

“But Mom!” he wailed. 

“No. You listen to me. Superheroes live dangerous lives. It isn’t a safe thing for you to do. If keeping you away from sugar now keeps you from growing up to be killed by some lunatic with a laser beam or crushed when a building falls on you, then that’s what we’re going to do. So get rid of that thing.” 

She slapped the lollipop out of Sora’s hand. A whimper escaped him as he watched it shatter on the sidewalk. 

That was the moment that changed everything. Standing there, looking at the beautiful rainbow lying fragmented on the ground, Sora had realized that he couldn’t go on living this way. His parents were never going to understand. Even when the facts were staring them in the face, they were so caught up in their idea of right and wrong that they would never change their ways. He was going to go on being sick and being rejected and getting into trouble until the day he finally got so sick he died, and his parents would go right on saying that they had done their best for him. It wasn’t their fault. He was just a Bad Boy. 

He hadn’t put all that into words, but he felt it somewhere at his core. He was still thinking about them late last night as he lay in bed, thinking about how he’d have to go to school tomorrow and live through the whole dreary round over again, and about his broken lollipop and about the kind doctor who probably thought he was living a happy life now and looking forward to growing up to be a hero. Suddenly he just couldn’t stand it any longer. If he couldn’t live like this, then he would go somewhere else. Moving quietly so that no one would hear him, he grabbed his school bag, stuffed a couple of pairs of clean socks and underwear into it, his toothbrush and toothpaste, and a few personal odds and ends. There were less of those than he’d thought there would be. This really hadn’t been the life for him, and there wasn’t much here he wanted to remember. 

He crept silently out of his room, out of the apartment, and into the elevator that would take him down to the ground floor. There was no one around in the lobby, for which he was thankful. He was able to sneak his way outside without being noticed. 

It was better out there. The night air was cool and soft, but it was still early enough, at least by adult terms, that some of the buildings were still lit. There were probably still stores open, he thought. He would use his savings to buy some food, and then... 

And then what? He would be all alone with no home, no money, no parents to look after him. 

_I’ll go to the academy,_ he decided. He knew that hero schools often took in orphans and other children whose families hadn’t been able to cope with their powers. If he explained his circumstances, surely they’d take pity on him. The nice doctor would back him up. Yes, that was a good idea. He’d use his money for a bus token, and he’d go to the academy. 

Which meant that just now, he didn’t have a lot of money for food. He considered the coins in his pocket. His parents tended to stint on pocket money, primarily because of what they knew he would spend it on. Anyway, a lot of it got confiscated to pay for the things he stole. 

_Well, at least I’m really good at stealing by now,_ he thought resignedly. 

But not as good as he thought he was. Maybe it was because he was tired and distracted, or maybe it was because the shopkeepers around here knew who he was by now. Whatever the cause, he had been in the process of transferring a few candy bars to his jacket pockets when a cashier shouted, “Stop right there! I saw you!” 

Sora took to his heels. He barged out of the store and into the street, hoping that darkness would bring safety. He tore up the sidewalk and around the nearest corner, trying to get out of sight. He didn’t think it would do any good. He could hear the cashier behind him, shouting threats and imprecations and getting closer by the second. A boy who had spent too much of his life sick could not outrun a healthy grown man over a long distance. He had to find somewhere to hide, and _fast_... 

He skidded around the next corner and nearly ran into three boys. He tried to stop, stumbled, and fell on his face. 

“Hey, what’s the hurry?” asked one of them. 

The answer came from the distant cashier: “You get back here this instant, you little thief! You can’t get away from me!” 

“Ahh,” said the tallest of the boys, who looked to be the leader. All of them, Sora realized fuzzily, were wearing uniforms and some kind of masks. Had he had the bad luck to run into a hero team? 

But apparently not. One of the boys made a gesture at the blank wall next to him, which instantly sprouted a door. 

“Through there, kid,” he ordered. 

His voice sounded sympathetic, and Sora didn’t need telling twice. He jumped through the open door, and was unsurprised to see it close instantly behind him. As soon as it was shut, it vanished entirely. Sora found himself standing in what looked like the stockroom of a clothing store. He put his ear to the wall, trying to ear what was happening outside. 

“Hey,” said the shopkeeper. “Any of you see a little boy run by?” 

“Yeah, he went that way,” said one of the boys. 

“Thanks,” said the cashier, and then there was the sound of footfalls, getting fainter. 

A few seconds after they were gone, the door reappeared, and Sora stepped out. 

“Thanks a lot,” he said gratefully. 

“No problem,” said the boy who’d made the door. “We don’t side with his kind.” 

The tallest boy nodded. “Anyway, I like kids. What did you steal, anyway?” 

Sora, sensing kindred spirits, held up his handful of candy bars. The leader shook his head. 

“That guy is over-reacting,” he said. “Though I have to say, it was pretty stupid to go stealing something like that. If you’re going to steal, at least make it worth more than a handful of candy. Play for high stakes, I say.” 

“It was worth something to me,” said Sora, a bit sulkily. 

“Is it that hard to get hold of candy where you come from?” asked one of the boys. 

The leader said, “What I want to know is, why is a boy your age out at this time of night and robbing convenience stores? Wait, come back inside and you can tell us all about it.” 

Obligingly, his friend made the door appear for them again, and they all slipped inside the storeroom again and vanished the door behind them. The leader settled himself comfortably on a pile of boxes, and everyone else arranged themselves around him wherever they could find a perch. Sora found himself sitting on the ground with everyone else looking down at him from their perches. 

“All right, kid,” said the leader. “Spill. What’s your story?” 

Faced with no other alternative, Sora did as he was told. He explained everything: his uncontrollable cravings, his constant illness, the way he’d been ostracized by his peers and scolded by his teachers, the way his father had hit him. He told them about being taken to the nice nutrition doctor, and how he’d learned that he was a super who was literally dying for lack of sweets. He told about his mother smashing the lollipop and throwing all the doctor’s carefully planned menus into the trash, and how he’d realized that his very survival depended on getting out of that house and finding someone who would be able to care for him properly. 

“So you’re a super, huh?” said the leader. He was looking at Sora thoughtfully. “How would you like to hang out with us tonight? We know a place that would be good for you, but we have some errands to run first.” 

“Aw, don’t bring him along,” said one of the other boys. “He’ll just get in the way.” 

“He’ll be fine,” said the leader. “Anyway, the boss said we’d get a bonus for bringing back any useful supers we could recruit to the cause, and this one seems like he’s got what it takes.” 

Sora perked up. “Recruit me for what?” 

“Never mind,” said the leader. “Come with us and you can see for yourself.” 

Sora nodded eagerly. It wasn’t as though they could get him into more trouble than he was already in, and he didn’t have anywhere else to go. 

“See?” said the leader approvingly. “He’s a trooper.” He flashed Sora a smile. “Come on, kid. Let’s go do something fun.” 

They re-opened the door and stepped out again. The four of them began striding along the streets, and Sora got the impression that his new friends had a particular destination in mind. He tried to guess what it might be. They were heading for a ritzy shopping district, he knew that much. He wondered, without much disapproval, if they were planning to rob a jewelry store or something. 

It was his nose that first clued him in to their destination. Gradually, he became aware of the scent of something delicious in the air. His stomach started to growl, and he had to stuff one of his purloined candy bars in his mouth to stop himself from running off after that smell. Even so, the longer they walked, the stronger it got, until he realized where they had to be going. They were, it seemed, heading for Paradise. 

Paradise was the oldest, most established, and most esteemed of all the city’s sweet shops. It had spent generations as a shop that sold traditional Japanese _wagashi_ , passing the art down from parent to child. Then, as times began to change, a young member of the family had taken an interest in the foreign way of doing things. He had gone abroad, and had come back with the knack of making chocolates and caramels and all the other confectionary delights of the western world, and had promptly began selling them alongside the more traditional sweets. A few years later, one of his children had decided that they were more interested in baking than candy-making, and had been sent to Europe to master the art of French patisserie. The shop had bought out the store next door, knocked out some of the walls, and installed a bakery. A few years later, they’d bought out the shop on the other side as well, and turned that into an ice cream parlor. There were rumors going around now that they were considering expanding yet again, and adding on a café that served exotic coffee drinks and bubble teas, and Sora had been hoping that they would get it done by the time he was old enough to shop there by himself. Even as it was, he’d have sold his soul for an hour in there with no one watching him. 

And it looked like tonight, he might get his wish, because his new friends walked straight up to the door of the shop. The leader tried the door handle. 

“Looks like they’re closed for the night,” he observed. 

He said it as a casual statement, but his friend who was clever with doors immediately stepped forward and put his hand on the latch. This time, it opened with no trouble, and the foursome let themselves inside. A bell over the door jangled, and a woman came out from a back room to eye them quizzically. 

“I could have sworn I locked that door,” she said. “Sorry, gentlemen, the shop is closed for the evening. We open again tomorrow at seven-thirty.” 

“I see. Sorry to bother you,” said the leader. “I suppose you and your team are busy making the chocolates for tomorrow, and we’ve gone and interrupted you.” 

The woman laughed pleasantly. “Oh, don’t worry. We’ll all be here bright and early tomorrow getting everything ready before the customers come in. I’m just here to tidy up a bit before I lock up and go home myself.” 

“Ahh, so you’re working here alone,” said the leader. “Good.” 

He slipped a little device out of his pocket and pointed it at the woman. Sora had just enough time to see her expression change as she realized she was in trouble. Then there was a flash, and the woman simply vanished. All that was left of her was a little scrap of paper that fluttered to the floor. One of the boys bent to pick it up, and Sora caught a glimpse of something like a photograph with the woman’s frightened face peering out. 

“Got her,” said the boy, slipping the photo into his pocket. “Somebody lock the door and pull the blinds down.” 

The second lieutenant did as he was told, plunging the room into darkness. The leader took out a little flashlight and set it on the floor to give them some light. 

“Now we can have the place to ourselves for a while,” he said. 

“What happened? Did you kill her?” asked Sora. He wasn’t sure whether to be horrified or impressed. 

“Nah, she’s fine,” said the boy who’d pocketed the photograph. “She’s just... somewhere else right now. It’s like different dimensions. Did they teach you about that in school? It’s like, if you look at something in one dimension it’s a line, and in two dimensions it’s a square, and in three dimensions it’s a four-sided pyramid. We just changed her dimensions. We can change her back later and she’ll be as good as new. In the meantime....” He made an expansive gesture. “We can have a party.” 

“Okay!” said Sora. It sounded sensible to him. No point in wasting a perfectly good confectioner if you didn’t have to. On the other hand, if everyone said she was all right, then Sora wasn’t going to worry about her when there were more interesting things to do. 

Within a few minutes, the party had assembled in the middle of the floor. One of the lieutenants had found a tablecloth somewhere and spread it out for a picnic blanket. Everyone else had filled their arms with whatever treats they liked best and piled them up in a heap. Now Sora sat with his new friends, trying to eat a lemon cupcake, a cherry cordial, and a salted caramel brownie at the same time and getting icing all over his face. 

“Hey, slow down!” said the leader, laughing. “The food’s not going to run away.” 

Sora attempted a reply, but since his mouth was full, he didn’t manage much more than, “Murph, murph.” He swallowed a few times and tried again. 

“I’m hungry,” he explained. He made a grab for a chocolate chip cookie. “So, you guys are villains, huh?” 

He didn’t say it with any particular condemnation. He already knew he was a thief and a Bad Boy, so falling in with a band of villains seemed perfectly natural. He’d wanted to be a hero, and fate had conspired against him, so he might as well see what the other option had to offer him. 

But the leader only laughed. 

“Nah, we aren’t villains,” he said. “We’re the Uprising.” 

“What’s the Uprising?” Sora asked. 

“Think of us as heroes who fight on behalf of heroes,” said one of the lieutenants. “See, the thing is, society doesn’t really like heroes. They need us, because someone has to protect them from the villains, but they don’t _like_ us. Sure, they make a big fuss over the heroes on TV, but deep down, they all envy us for having what they haven’t got, and they resent having to rely on us to protect them. They’d get rid of all of us supers if they could - they think they’d be safer that way. That’s why there are so many laws and registry offices and things. We’re trying to change that.” 

The second lieutenant said, “We’re building a new world. The Professor showed us the way.” 

“Who’s he?” Sora asked. 

“A brilliant scientist and leader,” said the first lieutenant eagerly. “He finds people like us who have been rejected by the normals and gives us a place where we belong.” 

“Better than that, he’s built us a world of our own,” said the captain. “Two worlds, really. His technology has opened up whole new dimensions where we can build a society where supers like us get the respect they deserve. There’s the Light Side - that’s our city where the civilians and scientists and all live - and the Dark Side - which is where us soldiers have our training grounds and barracks.” 

“What do you do there?” Sora asked. He wanted to keep them talking. For one thing, he was enjoying this impromptu picnic, and he had suspected that it would end once his new friends were ready to move on. For now, he had the agreeable feeling of having been invited to sit with the cool kids. It was a novel experience. It had been a long time since anyone had liked him. 

“Well, you don’t think the normals are going to take being put down without a fight, do you?” the leader asked. “Think about it. The natural way of things is for supers to be on top. That’s why we’re called supers, am I right? We should be in charge, and the normals should serve us and do all the drudge work we don’t have time for. So some of us go out to recruit new members and capture normals like this baker lady to bring back to our city to work for us, and the rest of us live in the city to keep everything running smoothly. Eventually, when there’s enough of us, we’ll march on this world and bring it to order just like our own city, and everything will be better.” 

Sora thought about that. From where he stood, it sounded fine to him. After all, the normals in his life - his parents, his teachers, his classmates, the shopkeepers who scolded him for stealing - all of them had been the source of his problems. The only person in the world he could think of who he really liked was kind Dr. Mokota, and he had been a super himself, which seemed to prove the captain’s point. 

“Makes sense,” he agreed. 

The captain grinned at his friends. “See? I told you the kid would get it.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” said the first lieutenant. “Hey, did anybody see anything with hazelnuts in here? I like hazelnuts.” 

Sora glanced around. The room was still too dark to make out many details, but the sixth sense that always told him when there was sugar near by was now sorting efficiently through the various sweets in the room until he found the one that said “hazelnuts” to him. Without thinking about it, he made a little “come here” gesture, and a small stream of chocolate-covered hazelnuts poured themselves out of a container and drifted across the room to settle on the picnic blanket. 

“Nice,” said the lieutenant. “You weren’t kidding about having powers, were you?” 

Sora just beamed. It was the first time in his life he had ever done anything truly “super”, and he felt immensely pleased with himself. 

“You really should come back with us,” said the captain. “We could use someone with a good strong talent like yours. I’ll bet you could make at least captain, maybe even general.” 

Sora thought about this for a moment. How would he like to live in a world where he was on top for a change, and all the people who had made him miserable all his life had to take orders from him? He imagined himself in a fancy uniform with a dashing scarlet cape and gold epaulets, leading his troops to victory. He imagined the classmates who had shunned him being forced to clean his room and fetch and carry for him. He imagined his mother chained to a stove, forced to bake for him all day long. He saw his father staggering under the weight of a tray as he ferried cookies and candies for his perusal. He imagined himself feasting on every good thing he’d ever wanted and been denied, while his teacher watched him from behind bars. 

“Oh, are you hungry?” he’d tell her. “Well, maybe I’ll feed you tomorrow, if I remember.” 

“Would you really take me with you?” he asked eagerly. 

“Sure,” said the captain. “Come to the Dark Side. We have cookies.”


	7. I Spy

“I don’t trust him,” said Masumi. 

Her tablemates nodded in agreement. She, Hokuto, and Yaiba were sitting down to dinner together and watching the new boy. He’d shown up yesterday, and Masumi had already decided that she didn’t trust him one little bit. For one thing, the school year was nearly over. Why would anyone transfer into a new school when they’d barely have time to get acclimatized before they’d have to leave again? All right, so he was supposed to be a refugee from the Heartland Institute. That was fine, but where was everyone else? Masumi was vaguely aware of the Heartland Institute, which had been a small but prestigious school. She wasn’t sure how many students it had enrolled, but she was sure that more than this one person had been forced to leave before they were ready. LDS was a large school, nearly as large as the one on Academy Island, and in some ways even more prestigious. Why weren’t more people taking advantage of their headmaster’s largesse? Was there something so special about this boy as to merit extra attention? So far, she hadn’t seen him do much but loiter around the edges of crowds and look sullen. His student ID records, which Hokuto had been bright enough to check, registered his S-level at 536 - a respectable number, but not high enough that he should have attracted special attention. 

“No matter how you look at it, he’s suspicious,” Yaiba agreed. 

“He’s in some of your classes,” said Hokuto. “Is he any good?” 

Yaiba thought about it. “He’s good. I’d like to go to toe-to-toe with him, for sure. It’s just...” He trailed off, frowning as he considered his next words. “He’s got this vibe about him, you know?” 

“What kind of ‘vibe’?” asked Masumi dubiously. 

“Like he’s always outside the group even when he’s on the inside,” said Yaiba. “Like he really couldn’t care less about the rest of us. We might as well not even be there. Pisses me off, now I think about it. Who does he think he is, ignoring us all like that? Does he think he’s special or something?” 

“Maybe,” said Masumi. “Or maybe he’s here for some other reason.” 

Hokuto leaned forward eagerly. “You think he might be mixed up with whatever is making those people disappear?” 

“He could be,” Masumi agreed. “Or maybe he’s some sort of security guard. There are rumors going around that Mr. Akaba has hired a few specialists and hidden them around the school to watch for trouble. He might be one of them.” 

“I doubt it,” said Yaiba. He absently twirled his chopsticks through his fingers in a way that made Masumi suspect he was longing for his knives. “If he was a security guard, he’d pay attention to what everyone around him was doing, and he doesn’t. He just hangs around. For my money, he’s killing time, waiting for something.” 

“Which is suspicious,” Masumi concluded. 

She drummed her fingers on the table. Part of her was saying that whatever this strange new student was doing here, it wasn’t really her business. Presumably Mr. Akaba had brought him here for a reason, and it would only make trouble if she interfered. On the other hand, if she hadn’t been willing to get into situations that were none of her business, she wouldn’t have become a hero in the first place. 

“Hokuto,” she said, “is there any way you can get a reading on him?” 

“I could try,” he said. “I don’t have his birthday, so I can’t do a star chart, but I could try the cards.” 

“Worth a try,” said Yaiba. All three of them knew that casting horoscopes was Hokuto’s particular field of expertise, but he could manage other methods of divination at a pinch. Whatever he got from the cards might be vague, but at least it probably wouldn’t be wrong. 

Hokuto shrugged and took a pack of Tarot cards out of his pocket. He shuffled them with quick, expert movements, then began laying them out in a careful pattern. His face took on the faraway look that meant he was communing with the cosmos. With the dreamy air of a man who barely registered what he was doing, he began turning the cards over one by one. 

“I see... a journey,” he said. “He has come here from some distance, and he will depart from here soon. He is seeking something that is, as yet, very far away. Very, very far away... I see danger ahead of him. I see captivity - walls, bars. A prison. I see prisoners, and rescuers. So many prisoners...” He trailed off, then shook himself. “Sorry, that’s all I’ve got.” 

“That was still pretty good,” said Yaiba, looking impressed. “You don’t usually get that deep into just a card reading.” 

“Yeah.” Masumi had expected Hokuto to look pleased with himself for a successful bit of divination, but instead, he looked worried. 

“What’s the matter?” she asked. 

“Well, it _was_ a really strong vision,” he said. “I don’t usually get them that strong for other people.” 

Masumi was quick to pick up the inflection. “But you get them that strong when you’re doing them for yourself?” 

“Yeah,” he admitted. “Which means we might be getting mixed up with that guy, one way or the other.” 

“Well,” said Masumi thoughtfully, “it seems to me that either he’s here looking for trouble, or he’s exactly what the headmaster says he is. If he’s looking for trouble, we should keep an eye on him to see what he’s doing. If he’s innocent, well... these students that have been going missing are all powerful supers who don’t fit in with their peers, and that describes him perfectly. He might well be a target. In fact, that might be what that business about long journeys and prisons was about. If that’s the case, someone should be protecting him.” 

“And that’s us!” said Yaiba cheerfully. “We’re the best in the school! No one can do it better!” 

“That’s what I was thinking,” said Masumi. She glanced at Hokuto. “So, are you in?” 

“I think so,” he said slowly. “Just before the vision faded, I saw... well, it was more of a feeling, really... I just had this sense that there was something really important up ahead. Some secret I was about to find out, only I didn’t quite see it in time. Does that make any sense?” 

“I think so,” said Masumi. “So you want to go on this trip just to find out whatever it was you didn’t find out?” 

“Something like that,” he said. He offered her a tentative smile. “So, what do you think?” 

She smiled back. “I think it sounds like a plan. Pack some bags, guys. It sounds like we’re going on a trip soon. Starting tonight, we’re going to be keeping a watch over this Kurosaki Shun and finding out what he’s really up to.” 

* * *

Sora sat in the lobby of the You Show Hero Agency and watched heroism happen. At the moment, this mainly meant answering the phone while Mr. Smiley went out and did the shopping. 

_Back in the Dark Side,_ Sora thought, _I was a general. I had squads of people who did everything I said. Now I’m stuck answering the phone because someone has to do it and I’m the least important person here._ Granted, the team here had been nice enough to him. They had offered him use of one of the rooms upstairs if he wanted it, which had been a relief, since it meant that he wouldn’t have to arrange for some other place to stay while he was in this dimension. It just wasn’t as nice as his room back home. He wondered if he could pick up a few items from there the next time he went back to report. Would these people wonder about it, or would it just add to the verisimilitude? 

The front door swung open, and Sora sat up, hoping that it might be a customer to break up the tedium. He relaxed as he saw that it was only Nico Smiley with his arms full of bags and boxes. He began dumping them on the desk, and Sora perked up a little. Some of those packages smelled good. 

“Hello, hello! Sorry that took so long. There was a line at the bakery,” he said cheerfully. “You didn’t have any trouble while I was gone, I hope?” 

“Everything was pretty quiet,” Sora admitted. “What’s in the boxes?” 

“Oh, this and that,” said Nico. He began sorting deftly through his purchases and stacking them into piles. “Spare printer paper, napkins, staples, pens, hand soap...” He moved all these to one side of the desk before reaching into the next bag. “And snacks, of course. Fresh fruit, protein bars, and most importantly, donuts.” 

“Now, that’s what I’m talking about!” Sora enthused. 

The other three members of the team wandered in, lured by the promise of snacks. 

“These are for you three to share,” said Nico, handing Yuuya one of the donut boxes. 

Yuuya flipped the lid open and peered inside. “Chocolate with strawberry frosting and sprinkles. You remembered!” 

“I remember everything,” said Nico, chin raised. “It’s a matter of pride.” 

“As soon as we start earning some real money, we’re going to have to give you a raise,” said Yuuya. He turned to offer his friends some of the donuts. 

“Hey, share some with me!” Sora protested. 

“It’s all right,” said Nico, taking a second box out of his shopping bag and handing it to him. “I got another one just for you.” 

“Wow, really? Thanks!” Sora accepted the cardboard carton and peered inside. It contained a dozen assorted doughnuts with various toppings. That pleased him. Not that he had anything against chocolate doughnuts with pink icing - he liked any sort of doughnut, regardless of flavor or topping - but it was nice to know he wasn’t expected to conform to his new boss’s preferences. 

“Of course,” said Nico. “I have been briefed on your particular needs. For the duration of your stay, I’ll be making sure there will be suitable snacks left out for you every morning.” 

“Nice,” said Sora approvingly. He picked up a jelly-filled donut and bit into it. Not bad, he decided. Nico had gone to a decent bakery. 

“I hung some flyers while I was out,” Nico added, as he finished sorting the groceries. “Hopefully they’ll stir up some interest.” 

“Thanks, Nico. You’re the best,” said Yuzu. 

“Don’t know what we’d do without you,” Yuuya agreed cheerfully. He swallowed the last bite of his doughnut. “Anyway, if nothing else is going on, I think I’ll go out on patrol. Anyone else want to come?” 

“I’ll go!” said Sora eagerly. 

Yuuya laughed. “Ready to get to work, huh? Well, I guess I can’t blame you.” 

“We’ll hold down the fort,” Gongenzaka promised. “Give us a call if anything big comes up.” 

“You got it,” Yuuya promised. He started towards the door, beckoning for Sora to follow him. 

_Maybe now something interesting will happen,_ Sora thought, as he reluctantly set aside the rest of his baked goods. He still wasn’t completely sure why the Professor had such an interest in this boy. All right, so most of the other soldiers treated the Professor as a kind of prophet, the man who had seen a vision of a glorious future that he would lead them all towards. Sora was somewhat skeptical on this point. He wasn’t sure he believed in visions or gods. What he did believe in was that the world needed fixing. 

In any sensibly ordered society, supers should be the ones in charge. It wasn't fair that the normals got to tell them what to do. There were rules for when and where they could use their powers. There were whole government offices that existed for no other reason than to track who had which powers and how strong they were. You had to fill out a stack of forms just to tell the world what you called yourself, for pity's sake! Who cared if two people in the whole world wanted to call themselves Avalanche or Blaze? Why should people who had no powers and never would be allowed to tell the people who did the best way to use them? Sora agreed wholeheartedly with the Professor on that score. The only useful purpose for normals was to do the drudge work for supers - as indeed Mr. Smiley was doing. 

Which again brought up the question as to why the Professor was so interested in this boy. All right, so his father had been a famous super years and years ago. So what? Lots of people had famous parents. Sora knew for a fact that some of the original members of the Gamesmen had children now, for example, and he hadn't heard that anyone in the Uprising was targeting them. Did the Professor see this man as an ally to be courted, or as an obstacle to his plans? Or was there some more subtle reason that Sora couldn't even begin to guess at? The Professor had seemed to believe that something about Yuuya's mere existence meant that the coming of the god he'd prophesied was close at hand, but why? Sora wasn't even certain what he was supposed to be watching for. 

_Guess I'll just have to watch and report everything._

"So, where are we going today?" Sora asked, as they strolled along the street. 

"I thought we'd go down to that big shopping center at the edge of town," said Yuuya. "What do they call it, Shopper's World? The kinda run-down one. You get some sketchy people there, so it might be a good place for a hero to hang out." 

"That's a long way to walk," said Sora dubiously. 

"Well, we don't have to walk. Can you fly or jump or anything?" 

In reply, Sora took out the bag of sugar he generally kept at his belt when he went out, and tipped it onto the ground. It formed itself into a solid shape, a bit like a small skateboard, which hovered in midair. Sora, a bit smugly, stepped onto it and balanced there. He allowed himself to drift into a little circle. Yuuya laughed and applauded. 

"That's pretty good," he said. "How fast can you go?" 

"Pretty fast," said Sora. Generally his speed depended on how recent his last snack had been, but after having just eaten half a box of doughnuts, he knew he could put on a pretty fair turn of speed. 

"Fast enough to keep up with me?" Yuuya asked, grinning. 

"Bet I can!" 

"All right, last one to Shopper's World has to buy the other an ice cream!" 

Without waiting for Sora to respond, he jumped into the air, grabbed a trapeze that hadn't been there a second ago, and went swinging up the street. 

"Hey, no fair!" Sora protested. He kicked his sugar-board into high speed and scrambled to catch up. 

A few minutes later, the two of them, both a bit short of breath, swung or skidded into the Shopper's World parking lot. 

"I'm first!" Sora crowed. 

"No, you weren't! I made it past the entrance before you did!" 

"Well, I touched the ground first!" 

"That wasn't in the rules!" 

Sora stuck his tongue out. Yuuya laughed. 

"Call it a tie," he suggested. "I'll get us both ice creams." 

He found a shop that sold ice cream mochi and bought a box for each of them. The two of them began their patrol while eating their sweets. 

"You do have a pretty cool power," Sora admitted as they walked. 

"Thanks," said Yuuya. "I think so, too. I mean, my dad always taught me that the powers we used are really special, maybe even unique." 

"I dunno. There are a few other circus-themed heroes out there. Ringmaster, Highwire, Socko the Clown..." 

"Yeah, I know, but that's not what he meant, I don't think," said Yuuya. "What I mean is, I have to have an audience for what I do or it doesn't really work. If I'm alone in my room, I can maybe manage some juggling balls, or make a spotlight come on if I need a light. If I'm in a stadium with five hundred people watching me, I can do you a whole three-ring circus with dancing elephants and people jumping motorcycles through flaming hoops and pretty ladies riding tigers." 

"I'd like to see that," Sora admitted. 

Yuuya smiled. "I enjoy doing it. It's the best feeling in the world, feeling all those people watching me and knowing I'm making them happy." 

Sora kept his mouth shut on the subject of making people happy. People rarely made him happy and he didn't see why he should do anything for them. He had enough to do just keeping himself happy without having to worry about anyone else. 

"But I think all heroes are like that, a little bit," said Yuuya. "I mean, what's a hero for, really?" 

"Fighting bad guys?" Sora suggested. 

"Well, kind of, but they do other stuff besides that. Basically we're just here to solve problems. Even when we aren't doing that, we make people feel safe. We put a little magic into the world and make people smile. That's really all it takes to make a hero - putting a smile on people's faces." 

"Hmm," said Sora dubiously. "Doesn't that mean that, like, movie stars and video game designers and stuff are heroes, even if they don't have superpowers?" 

"Well, sure. You can be a hero and not be a superhero. Kinda like how you can make music without being a professional musician. That's why a lot of the big hero schools will take people in if they can pass the exams even if they don't meet the power requirements." 

"There's an urban legend," said Sora thoughtfully, "about a guy who got into Hero Academy under Clause 214 and turned out to be the most powerful super ever." 

"Well, there you go, then," said Yuuya, as though that proved something. "Hey, what's that over there?" 

Sora turned to look. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of something red and black flitting behind a building. 

"Closer look?" Sora whispered. 

Yuuya nodded. "I'll go around. You go over." 

Sora nodded back. He said loudly, "Hang on, I want to look in that video game store," before turning around and stepping away. It was probably a needless precaution, but the Uprising had trained him well. He made sure he was well out of anyone's line of sight before conjuring his sugar-board again and lofting himself up onto the roof. From there, he trotted swiftly across the building to a point where he could peek over the side. Sure enough, there was a young man down there, dressed in a rather bizarre checked suit. After a moment of observation, Sora decided that it was probably meant to represent a dartboard. He provisionally classified whoever it was as a sharpshooter and began making his plans accordingly. 

He'd had only a second or two to think before Yuuya stepped around the corner. 

"So, why are you lurking around back here?" Yuuya asked. 

The stranger's head snapped up. "Oh, it's you again. Here to steal my spotlight, huh?" 

"Excuse me? Have we met?" asked Yuuya, sounding confused. 

"You're The Entertainer, aren't you?" the dartboard man snapped. 

"Yeah, that's me. Who are you?" 

"I'm..." There was a slight pause, as though the man wasn't sure how best to respond. "I'm Sawatari Shingo, son of Sawatari Furio, and _I'm_ supposed to be the greatest hero in this city, not you!" 

"I never actully said I was..." said Yuuya, sounding confused. 

"Oh, sure, you never _said_ , but you didn't have to! I've been doing this longer than you and working harder than you, but the media is sucking up to you just because your dad was some big shot back in the day," Sawatari groused. 

"I didn't do it on purpose," said Yuuya. He sounded more confused than offended. "I mean, I didn't get any choice in who my father was." 

"You know what? I don't _care_ who your father was," said Sawatari. "My father is the mayor, and he works hard for this city every day. _Your_ father is a has-been who let himself get blown up by some stupid no-name villain ten years ago. What good has he done anybody lately?" 

"Hey, hold on just a minute!" said Yuuya. Sora winced. Clearly the subject of Yuuya's father was a sensitive one, and Yuuya was geting riled. "Don't say things like that about my father!" 

"Well, it's true! He's nobody these days. It doesn't matter what he used to be - he's not important to anybody now." 

"He's important to me," Yuuya snapped 

"Who cares what you think? You're an even bigger nobody than your dad was, and I'll prove it!" 

"Oh, yeah? How?" 

"By beating you in a fight, right here and now. I'll prove you haven't got what it takes to protect this city!" 

"Bring it on, then!" 

The two of them sprang at each other, and Sora sighed. He understood defending your pride, but honestly, did people have to be so stupid about it? 

_Guess I should step in._

He let himself drop back down to the ground a few meters behind where Sawatari stood. No one seemed to notice him. Just now, the two of them were fighting hand to hand, punching and kicking. Neither of them, Sora thought, were especially good at it. They weren't especially _bad_ \- clearly they'd both had good training - but Sora had guessed that Sawatari was mainly a projectile fighter, and Yuuya relied a lot on his acrobatics and magic tricks, and needed room to work if he was going to make the most of them. Sawatari clearly realized that, and wasn’t letting him have his breathing room. Fighting close up, they were pretty evenly matched. If Yuuya was going to get out of this with something better than a draw, he was going to need an extra edge. 

_Oh, well, this might be entertaining._

Sora made a gesture as though twisting a doorknob. His sugar supply went from being a solid board to a lot of little marbles, about two centimeters across. He sent them rolling across the ground to congregate just below where Sawatari's foot was about to come down. The expression of surprise on his face when he stepped on something that rolled and went somersaulting backwards was enough to make Sora grin. 

"Hey!" Sawatari complained, as he finally noticed Sora. "No fair ganging up on me!" 

He tried to scramble to his feet, but the sugar-marbles kept getting in his way. Yuuya grinned. Clearly the comical sight had taken the edge off his anger. 

"Part of being a good hero is making good allies," said Yuuya. "This is my buddy Sugar Crash. Who's here to back you up?" 

Sawatari snarled. "That's it, no more Mister Nice Guy!" 

He flicked his wrists, and a handful of metal darts appeared between his fingers. He jammed them into slots along the edges of his boots, where they fitted so neatly that they must have been made for that purpose. Another flick produced more darts that fitted into his gloves. The whole process took barely more than the space of a breath - he had clearly practiced this maneuver until he could do it perfectly. Now he had traction on his boots that made the sugar-marbles barely even an annoyance. Sawatari jumped free of the obstruction and managed to stick himself to the wall, dangling by the sharp points on his feet and hands. 

_Not bad._ Sora gave him grudging marks for innovation. His skill was basically only good for one thing, so he'd learned how to make it multifunctional. 

That was all he had time to think before a spray of darts shot at him. Thee of them sunk into the pavement and stuck there, but one rebounded, spun through the air, and managed to graze his shoulder in a way that physics couldn't account for. 

_Great. He throws homing darts,_ Sora thought abstractedly. Clearly, as long as they still had some momentum behind them, they'd keep chasing their target. That meant the guy didn't have to aim - he just had to keep throwing until his enemies got tired of being punctured. 

"Leave him alone!" Yuuya shouted. "This is between you and me!" 

"Tell him that!" 

Yuuya tossed a handful of throwing knives at Sawatari just as Sawatari lobbed more darts at him. Sora made an urgent gesture, and the darts flying towards Yuuya were suddenly mired in a dense block of sugar. The whole thing fell to the ground and smashed. Sora heard a yelp, but didn't turn around. He suspected that Yuuya was not the kind who'd shoot to kill, but he was the type who'd try to pin someone's clothes to the wall so they couldn't get away, and he might just happen to graze someone a bit when he tried. 

_Maybe I can help..._

He watched the two combatants trading attacks for a while, waiting for his moment. He had to admit, Yuuya was an excellent acrobat. He jumped and spun and dodged and occasionally swung, making use of his temporary trapezes and trampolines to give him added lift. If it hadn't been for the supernatural quality of the darts, he wouldn't have been hit once. As it was, he seemed to be getting the idea that the best thing to do would be to get where Sawatari couldn't see him, and he was making for the other side of the building as fast as he could. 

"Oh, no you don't!" Sawatari shouted, scuttling across the wall like a spider. 

Sora saw his chance. He caused his sugar to coalesce on the side of the wall, just below where Sawatari was putting his hands and feet. His darts, never very secure to start with, found themselves gripping something that was suddenly crumbling away beneath them. Sawatari fell over with a gratifying thump. 

But not before he managed one last wild throw. It hit Yuuya in the leg, and he fell over onto the concrete. His sparkling mask fell free and lay glittering there among the alleyway debris. Sawatari sat up and stared at him. 

"It's you!" he said. "I should have known!" 

Yuuya sat up, looking a bit woozy. "Ow," he said, and then, "What should you have known?" 

"I should have known all along!" Sawatari crowed, as though seeing Yuuya's face were some major victory. "You changed your costume and changed your hair, but I still recognize you! Wait until my father hears about this..." 

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Yuuya. "This is the only costume I've got." 

"You would say that, wouldn't you?" said Sawatari. "Well, I'm about to blow the lid off your little secret. See you later, punk!" 

He scaled the wall again and clambered off over the rooftops. Yuuya watched him go for a second before turning his attention back to his punctures. Sora trotted over to see if he could help. 

"What was that all about?" Sora asked. 

"Search me," said Yuuya. "Oww, those suckers really sting. Guess I'd better go find a healer. I think the drug store has one.... What about you? Are you okay?" 

"Just a little scratch," said Sora. "It doesn't hurt, really." 

"Are you sure?" Yuuya stood up gingerly. The puncture on his leg looked a bit messy. 

"I'm fine," Sora assured him. "If it bothers me later, I'll get the school nurse at LDS to take care of it." Actually, he planned to let the healer at the Dark Side medical bay attend to it. Sora wasn't about to trust his valuable hide to some second-rate healer at the drugstore. 

"As long as you're sure," said Yuuya. He started to walk, limping slightly on his injured leg. "That guy was weird, wasn't he?" 

"He sure was," Sora agreed. "Do you know him from somewhere?" 

"Never met him before in my life," said Yuuya. "What about you? If he's the mayor's son, he probably went to LDS." 

Sora thought fast. "He probably did, but he's way above my year." 

"Yeah, I guess you wouldn't have had too many classes together," Yuuya said. "Listen, maybe you should go back to the office, or the school or whatever. Go tell the guys what just happened. You can make it there yourself, can't you?" 

Sora tried not to look offended, reminding himself that today he was still the eager intern who was probably horrified by seeing his first real fight, and not an experienced general who was used to looking after himself. 

"I'll be okay," he assured Yuuya. "I'll tell everybody everything, so take your time and don't come back until you're all better." 

Yuuya smiled, apparently touched by this show of concern. "Go on, then. I'll catch up as soon as I can." 

Sora nodded. He started across the parking lot, making a beeline back the way they had come. 

But he didn't go directly to the office, or even to his healer. Instead, he turned onto a narrow street and picked his way among the small businesses until he reached a shop that billed itself as Good Time Party Supplies. He let himself in and looked around until he found a slender red-haired man putting up a display of Mylar balloons. 

"Hey," said Sora. "I've come to ask about the party favors I ordered." 

"Ahh, yes," said the man. "Jungle themed, were they?" 

"No, they were cowboys," said Sora, who knew the password. 

"Right, then. Just step into my office," said the man. 

He escorted Sora away from the front of the shop into a tiny, crowded office, stuffed with odds and ends of cast off merchandise. Once they were both inside, he turned around locked the door securely behind them. The proprietor leaned against the wall, smiling, while Sora made himself comfortable in the creaky leather swivel chair. 

"Well, Sora," he said, "I was wondering when you'd drop in on me. You've been taking your time. Thinking you might rather join the You Show Agency for real?" 

"Can it, Dennis. I've been doing my job, okay?" said Sora. He had never quite known what to make of Dennis MacField. He didn't appear to have an actual rank, although going by his S-levels he should have been a general at least. He didn't seem to belong to any group or do any official job. He disappeared for long spans of time, and then reappeared with no explanation. No one ever saw him doing anything, and no one seemed to know what his particular skills were. He was just around, in the midst of things, watching and listening. 

"That is for us to decide," said Dennis, still smiling. "How are you liking your new berth?" 

"It's okay," said Sora. "The secretary guy bought me donuts." 

"Quite the job benefit," said Dennis. "I hope you've done something to earn them." 

In response, Sora turned so that Dennis could see the scratch on his arm. Dennis clicked his tongue. 

"Living dangerously, I see," he remarked. "What happened?" 

Sora smiled a little. "Wait until you hear this..." 

* * *

Shun was bored. He'd been at this school for barely twenty-four hours and so far all he'd learned was that he was glad he'd gone to Heartland. The school at Heartland had been smaller and more relaxed. The students were generally on good terms with the teachers, the curriculum was flexible, and the whole air of the school was that you were there to learn what you wanted to learn when you were ready to learn it. Here, the air was that of conformity, and Shun didn't think he liked it. Supers were such a variable lot, the idea of sorting them into groups based on attack, defense, and support struck him as silly. To his mind, any good hero should be able to do any of those to some degree or another, and restricting them to just one aspect was only going to bring them problems. 

Besides, he'd already graduated, with high honors. What was the point of having to do everything all over again? There weren't even a lot of people in this school who could give him a reasonable challenge. The advantage his wings gave him and his incredible strength and speed put him above virtually everyone else in this school. 

To top it all off, he wasn't even allowed to talk to people. He hadn't realized just how much that would bother him when he'd taken this assignment. He hadn't thought about much of anything when he'd taken it, beyond the fact that he'd found a lead on his missing sister and he that he intended to follow it wherever it led. He'd never exactly thought of himself as a sociable person. He'd been friendly with Yuuto and a few of his other classmates, but he wasn't as socially outgoing as Ruri had been. He hadn't really needed to be, since as long as he had his sister and his best friend, they would draw other people to him. Now he had no one. Yuuto had opted not to take Akaba's offer, saying that they would make more progress by dividing their efforts. Here at the school, he wasn't allowed to make any new friends, even if he'd wanted to, because doing so would mean that he would lose the loner persona he was trying to build up. He hadn't realized how much he would hate being totally alone. 

He could only hope it would pay off. It was night time now, that dim blue hour between the end of dinner and the time when everyone would be expected to report to their rooms and get ready for bed, or at least, to be quiet. Shun could have gone to bed, too, but he had reasoned that if he was going to make himself a target, this was the best time to do it. Since no one else was around this time of day, anyone who wanted to speak to him alone would probably choose this time to approach him. To that end, he had taken himself to one of the workout areas, which students were technically allowed to use at any time of day before lights-out, though that didn't happen often in practice. He had the arena to himself. he passed the time by going through various exercises that were meant to strengthen his wings and all the other muscles used in flying. Most people didn't think about how awkwardly suited the human body was for flying, and how much he'd had to exercise his torso and shoulder muscles to take the strain of being airborne in a body that was never meant to do so. 

A flicker of movement caught his eye. He'd always had good eyes - raptor's eyes, his friends sometimes said. He was almost sure there was a streak of the hawk in him somewhere, because he'd always been able to see tiny details at a distance better than anyone else he knew who didn't have some sort of super-enhanced vision. Now he was picking out the movement of two - no, make that three people sneaking around under the stadium bleachers. 

_Hmm, interesting..._ , he mused. He didn't think the enemies he was looking for were likely to stoop to that sort of sneaking and spying. Or rather, he was sure they did, but they probably weren't so obvious about it. If they were, someone would have caught them by now. So, who was this? Someone who was interested in him for some other reason? Probably another student. Perhaps they were just curious about the new boy and wanted a better look at him. Possibly - perish the thought - they even had a crush and were hoping to get a glimpse of him, or talk to him alone. He hoped not. He was definitely not in the mood for any of that sort of thing, and generally wasn't even at the best of times. 

Then again, it was just possible that they were suspicious of him. If that was the case, he decided, he was just going to have to let them get on with being suspicious. It wasn't any of his business what other students thought of him. He went back to stretching his wings, and wondered if he ought to take to the air for a while to shed any unwanted pursuers. If the people he was hunting for were going to turn up tonight, he didn't want any innocent bystanders getting mixed up in things. 

But before he could make up his mind, he felt a shiver in the air. It was something he felt in his wings rather than his skin. They were supremely sensitive to air currents, and seemed to have a mind of their own in that regard. In the air, it helped him stay aloft even when the winds shifted suddenly. Down here on the ground, they let him now when enemies were approaching. Just now, he had the strong sense that several people had just intruded suddenly into a space nearby, as though they'd just stepped through a door that he knew for a fact wasn't there. He forced himself not to turn to face them. 

"Training by yourself?" an unfamiliar voice asked. 

He turned at last to eye the newcomers. There were five of them, though four were hanging back, watching him blankly. Only one, a man of about his own age, was stepping forward to speak to him. He was dressed in what Shun was coming to realize were the uniform of his enemies. It was exactly as Akaba had described them to him: slim gray trousers, blue uniform jacket, silvery mask with a blue stone set between the eyes. They didn't quite look truly villainous, but they weren't a look you would immediately trust, either. They simply looked... military, powerful, like someone who wasn't here to mess around. 

"I find it less distracting that way," he said noncommittally. 

"I see," said the newcomer. "I wondered if you were training alone because you enjoyed it, or..." 

Shun heard the question mark dangling in the air. 

"There aren't a lot of people here worth training with," he said. Well, that was the truth, and he didn't bother to try to keep the bitterness out of his voice as he spoke. 

"I see," said the stranger. 

Shun said, "Are you students here? You aren't wearing the school uniform." 

"No, we are from... a related organization," said the stranger. "You might think of us as auditors of a sort. Making sure the school is getting its job done, and... reassigning students who don't quite fit here." 

"I see," said Shun. "What's your name?" 

"You may call me Captain Ikeda." 

"Well, captain, my name is Kurosaki Shun, and if you know of a better school, I'll transfer to it. This place does not come up to my standards." 

Ikeda smiled. "We aren't exactly a school so much as a training facility." 

Shun raised an eyebrow. "What's the difference?" 

"We're a bit more focused on practical skills," said Ikeda. "An action-oriented man like yourself might feel more at home there." 

"Tell me more about it," said Shun. 

"We call ourselves the Uprising," said Ikeda. "We are committed to building a world for the betterment of those with superpowers. To that end, we are training supers to make the most of their abilities, while at the same time working to combat the unjust repression of supers by so-called 'normals', who would hold us back by restricting us with unfair laws and regulations." 

"Sounds good, so far as it goes," said Shun carefully, thinking, _They sound like a lot of fantatics._ It was hardly an unfamiliar line. Part of Shun's hero training had been a course in superhero ethics that had discussed the laws and restrictions, why they existed, and how they were sometimes twisted and misused. Yes, there were a lot of laws restricting what supers could and couldn't do, but so what? There were laws restricting what you could do with automobiles, too. Anything that could potentially kill someone probably had a few laws restricting it, mainly for good reasons. Anyone who went around saying they wanted to get rid of the laws restraining what supers could do probably had an inaudible rider attached that said, "So I can do whatever I want and get away with it." 

"We would be happy to give you a tour of our facility," said Ikeda. "We're always accepting new members." 

"I don't know," said Shun, pretending to think about it. "What's in it for me if I go with you guys?" 

"For you? A proper living space - a real apartment of your own, not a dorm smashed together with a hundred other people. You'd be assigned to your own team, so you'd have friends and allies right off the bat. Once you finish basic training, you'd be given authority based on things like the strength of your talents and your leadership potential. You could be leading your own team inside a month. And of course, you'd be given clothing and tools - whatever you need to get your job done - completely free." 

"Interesting," said Shun. He considered his options carefully. On the one hand, he could follow these people right now, find out where they were hiding out, and go back to Akaba with whatever information he could gather. On the other hand, if he did follow them, there was no guarantee that he would make it back. Given how many starry-eyed idealists he'd seen in this school, he wouldn't be surprised if at least one of the vanished students hadn't thought of something similar. So his other option was that he could stall. If he put them off a bit, said he needed to think about it, he could report back to Akaba with whatever he learned from this conversation. Then he could truly serve as bait on some other day when he had some backup. 

"I think..." he began. 

"Hold it right there!" 

_Oh, brother._ Shun rolled his eyes. He should have known the minute he saw those people slinking around behind the bleachers that something like this was going to happen. 

The four soldiers who had been lurking in the background suddenly snapped to attention. Shun turned around to have a look at the threat himself. What he saw made him groan with annoyance. At the forefront of the little crowd that had just stepped into the light was an attractive young woman wearing a dazzling white outfit that made her glitter like a diamond. Behind her was a young man dressed in blue and white whose outfit was meant to invoke a samurai's armor. He was carrying far more blades than any one person should ever need at one time. The third member of the group wore a crown of stars on his brow, a quiver of arrows on his back, and held a bow in one hand. Shun recognized the three of them as Masumi, Yaiba, and Hokuto, known around the school as the Power Trio. They were supposed to be the best in the school, which meant they really should have been less stupid than this. 

"I knew it!" Yaiba was saying. "Didn't I say so? I knew he was up to no good!" 

Masumi ignored him. Her steady gaze was fixed squarely on Shun and his new friends. It wasn't an accusing gaze so much as an evaluating one. She was taking in the situation and working out in her head all the different ways it could go. Shun found himself thinking that this one, at least, had some brains. Too bad she didn't have a little more impulse control, or at least control over her sidekicks. 

"I would like an explanation as to what's going on here, please," she said, tone level. 

"We're just having an informative little discussion with our friend Kurosaki here," said Ikeda. "Nothing for you to get worked up about. I suggest you go away and leave us to it." 

"I'd like a little more information than that," said Masumi. 

Shun weighed his options. These people were clearly suspicious of him and probably not inclined to believe whatever he said, so how much truth should he tell them? What _could_ he tell them that wouldn't ruin his mission and cost him his best chance at seeing Ruri again?" 

"Don't ask me," he said. "I was just working out here and they just showed up. I don't know who they are." 

Hokuto narrowed his eyes. "You're lying." 

Shun stifled a sigh. It was a pain, dealing with clairvoyants. 

"I knew it! I knew it!" Yaiba shouted. He was bouncing up and down in excitement. "I knew this guy was with them! You are, aren't you?" He gestured at Shun with one of his swords. "You're with those guys who made the people disappear!" 

"I'm not!" he said, with genuine outrage. 

"So this is a trap," said Ikeda. He was already drawing some odd little device from his belt. Shun remembered what he'd heard about those devices and had to fight the instinct to take to the air. Instead, he turned to the trio. 

"Get out of here!" he shouted. "You're in danger! Go!" 

He might as well have given orders to gravity. Hokuto drew his bow and, somewhat to Shun's surprise, actually managed to shoot the gizmo out of Ikeda's hand. Yaiba ran forward, swords drawn - lots of swords, in fact, since his gift was controlling blades without necessarily touching them. Masumi fell into a defensive position and began conjuring shields of shimmering crystal with which to defend her friends. It was a beautiful sight, the three of them working together so easily and confidently. It was also no good. Shun could see the other four soldiers drawing their own light guns. Hokuto nocked another arrow, but before he could let it off, the light took him and reduced him to a slip of paper drifting on the breeze. Yaiba turned, startled, and the next blast got him as well. Masumi shrieked her outrage and dashed forwards, holding her shield up like a battering ram. Shun turned in place, wanting to scream at her to stop, to turn around, to run away, but he couldn't seem to get the words out. Too late, he realized that the light level around him was rising and that he couldn't move anymore. His field of vision went blurry, so that all he could see now was the dark silhouette of a woman with her hair streaming out before her, charing at an enemy she couldn't hope to defeat. 

_Ruri,_ he thought, and then everything went white.


	8. Can You Do Me A Favor?

Sawatari had never realized that the rule regarding recorders on a hero's costume could be so valuable. He'd always viewed it as a bit of a nuisance, but one he had to put up with. He truly wished that he could find a way to get a camera that followed a few feet behind him. After all, the forward-facing camera would only show what was going on in front of him, and what he really wanted was a camera that filmed _him_. Otherwise, how was the news ever going to get any good footage of him? 

But tonight, that camera was going to come in handy. He carefully unfixed it from its place on his shoulder, where it was camouflaged by the bull's eye of his dartboard pattern, and plugged it into his computer to upload the footage. He watched, grimacing a bit, as the brief scuffle between himself, Sakaki, and that Sugar Crash boy played out in front of him. It looked even more embarrassing from the eye of the camera, since all it could show were the projectiles being lobbed at him and his own attacks being dodged. On the other hand, seeing Sakaki take a dart to the leg gave him some brief satisfaction. At least, he told himself, no one could see the place where one of those throwing knives had nicked his ribs. 

At last, he reached the moment he'd been searching for and paused the film. There was the scene he'd been searching for: the image of Sakakai Yuuya with his face unmasked. Sawatari stared at it, reassuring himself that he was seeing what he thought he'd seen. He took a screencap, then searched his files until he found the footage from the other day, when he'd met that strange masked man and his bird friend. He scanned that video until he found a shot with a good view of the masked man's face. He took a screencap of that, too, and put both of them side by side. he stared at them. 

Yes, it was exactly as he'd thought. The mask that normally covered Yuuya's eyes and the mask that covered the shadow knight's nose and mouth made the similarities harder to spot, but they were there, all right. The eyes were the same, the planes of the cheeks and brows were the same, the set of the ears was the same. Even the hair was almost the same. It wasn't exact, but of course, it was easy to change hair around. A little dye, a little styling gel, and you could fool people into thinking you were someone else without having to change any other details. In different costumes and different lights, it would be easy to fool the world into thinking these two were entirely different people. 

_But they can’t be,_ he told himself. There was no way in the world two people could be that much alike without being the same person. The more he compared the videos, the more certain he was. It wasn't just the faces. It wasn't even the height and build, although both of those were right as well. It was in the way they walked, the way they carried themselves, the way they held their heads and shoulders even when they weren't moving. Even twins couldn't mimic each other that perfectly, he was sure. And that meant that Sawatari knew something that was going to make his life a whole lot more interesting, and Sakaki Yuuya's life a whole lot worse. 

For starters, there were rules against a hero appearing in public in two different guises. Not against having secret identities - lots of people had those - but against trying to have two different heroic facades. Someone who had powers over water and fire couldn't appear in one costume calling himself Fire Blast one night, and put on a wetsuit and flippers and call himself The Human Fish another day. It created problems with the media, with advertisers, and with the government agencies tasked with figuring out which heroes were doing what and with whom. That was, he was forced to admit, why so many people were giving him such a hard time over changing his name so much. So if Sakaki Yuuya was trying to be both The Entertainer and The Phantom Knight, he was going to be in trouble. 

That was setting aside the fact that Sawatari was certain that Yuuya was, in some way, up to no good. First he'd been slinking around the back alleys with that bird man, and then he'd turned up and picked a fight with Sawatari behind the convenience store. He had to be making some kind of mischief, and Sawatari was determined to find out what it was. 

_And thanks to me, the Phantom Knight is a wanted man, _he thought smugly. he wondered what the best thing to do with this information was. Should he tell someone? He could tell his father. That would guarantee the news would get around. He could take it straight to the media. He could go to one of the national bureaus tasked with overseeing heroic activities and let them take it from there. Any one of those options had potential.__

__But in the end, he knew what he had to do. There was only room in this city for one top hero, and that hero was going to be Sawatari. That meant that the good people of Maiami were going to have to know that Sakaki Yuuya was not their friend, and they would have to turn against him. They couldn't do that until they knew what was going on._ _

___Which means I have to talk to my good friends in the media,_ he decided. An anonymous tip would be good. After all, hero videos like the one take by his body cam were out of necessity considered public property. There were whole websites that catered to people who watched hero videos like this one, picked them apart, argued about them, deduced all kinds of things from them. It was an immensely popular hobby, tracing the career of your favorite heroes through the videos. It would be so easy to link these two videos together and anonymously post them somewhere... _ _

___It will be fun to see how this plays out,_ Sawatari decided, and settled in to explore the wonders of social media. _ _

* * *

__

__"Excuse me," said a cheerful voice. "Are you busy?"_ _

__Yuzu had been busy, but she wasn't as busy as all that. She'd been on the internet, sampling new music. Since her talents changed depending on what she was listening to, she tended to listen to a lot of music, forever searching for new and better effects. She had discovered that songs were more effective if she hadn't listened to them too many times before, and gradually lost their efficiency the more familiar they became, so replenishing her music collection was a full time job. In fact, part of her sponsorship money was specifically earmarked for downloading new music._ _

__But she didn't want to put off Nico. Whatever he'd come up here for, it was no doubt important, or at least pertaining to something useful._ _

__"Not very," she assured him with a smile. "What's up?"_ _

__"There's a young lady downstairs who would like to consult with a hero," he said. "I told her you might be available. Shall I tell her to meet you in the consulting room?"_ _

__"Oh, ah, sure," said Yuzu. She felt a small stirring of excitement. The first real customer, and she had arrived when it was Yuzu there to speak to her. Not one of the boys, but _her_. They would be jealous when they found out, even if whatever this girl wanted turned out to be something the whole team would have to be involved in. "I'll be right down." _ _

__"Excellent," said Nico, and went away again._ _

__Yuzu took a moment to pull on the rest of her costume - she'd been wearing only the bodysuit and skirt parts when Nico had come in, but for a customer, she wanted to be seen wearing the full kit. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she went down to the consulting room. This was simply a small room just off the lobby, containing a coffee table, two sofas, and a little shelf containing the makings of coffee and tea, as well as a bowl of prepackaged cookies and granola bars. Its sole purpose was that clients who had sensitive problems could discuss them there without fear of being overheard. Now Yuzu stepped inside and found a young woman waiting there for her. She looked to be a few years younger than Yuzu, with a mass of curly red hair and huge green eyes. She held what looked like a paperweight shaped like an apple made of blue glass, which she rolled nervously from hand to hand._ _

__"Hi," said Yuzu, in her most reassuring tones. "I'm Music Boxer. What can I do for you?"_ _

__The girl raised her eyes to look Yuzu over. Whatever she saw must have reassured her, because she smiled slightly and put the apple down._ _

__"I'm Mieru," she said. "I'm a student at LDS."_ _

__Yuzu nodded and sat down on the sofa opposite from her. "And what brings you here, Mieru?"_ _

__"Well... I'm worried about one of my classmates," she said._ _

__"Can you explain more?"_ _

__"His name is Hokuto," she said. "He's in a lot of my classes - we're both divinators, so we have a lot of the same lessons, even though he's older than me."_ _

__Yuzu smiled a little. "Do you like him?"_ _

__"No!" said Mieru, cheeks going pink. "He's too old for me, and anyway, everyone knows he has a crush on that Masumi girl. But he's my friend. We have a lot in common, and we help each other study and stuff. And today, he didn't show up for class."_ _

__"Well, maybe he got sick," said Yuzu._ _

__"He didn't. I checked," said Mieru. "He didn't come to any meals, or any of his classes, and he isn't in his room. I checked on Masumi and his best friend Yaiba and they aren't anywhere either. They've just disappeared."_ _

__"Hmm," said Yuzu. "Have you talked to anyone at the school about this? The teachers, or...?"_ _

__Mieru looked disapproving. "I asked, and they said that because they're the three best students in the school, they'd been sent for some kind of special training, but I don't believe it! If Hokuto were going somewhere, he would have told me - he _would_ have! Anyway, when I looked, all his stuff was still in his room, and why would he leave without his stuff? What's really worrying me is that other students have disappeared too. I think the school is trying to cover it up." _ _

__"You think LDS is behind it somehow?" asked Yuzu. She didn't want to think about that, but it was a question that had to be asked. LDS was powerful in Maiami City. If they were causing students to disappear and hiding the fact..._ _

__"I don't _think_ so," said Mieru slowly, "but I think they know more than they're telling and that's not right. If there's danger, they should tell us about it so we can protect ourselves." _ _

__"Hmm," said Yuzu again. She turned all this over in her mind. "You say your specialty is divination. Does your second sight tell you anything?"_ _

__"A little," she said. "I get the feeling that he's still alive, but he's gone a long way away. I can't figure out where and that worries me, because I'm usually so good at finding things."_ _

__"I see," said Yuzu. "So you came to us to ask for help."_ _

__Mieru nodded. "I had to ask somebody, and when I looked in my crystal and asked who could help Hokuto get home safely, it showed me The Entertainer, and I thought he'd been out of business for ten years, but I looked up the name of his agency anyway and there you were so here I am. Is he here?"_ _

__"No," said Yuzu, "but his son is. He's taken on the family name, and I know he'd do anything he could to help you."_ _

__Mieru smiled a little. "That must be what it is. He must be the one who's destined to help."_ _

__"If anyone can do it, he can," said Yuzu firmly._ _

__"You'll ask him, then?" Mieru asked. "I mean, I can't really pay very much, because I'm just a student and I haven't got a lot of money of my own, but..."_ _

__"Don't worry about it," said Yuzu. "A hero doesn't need money to do what's right."_ _

__Anyway, she said to herself, if something was really wrong at LDS, no doubt they would get some money from either the government or the school itself for sorting things out. She believed in the hero ideoology, and would have done the job for free if necessary, but she was also a very practical woman and knew how these things played out._ _

__"I could probably work off my debt," said Mieru. "You don't have a lot of support here, do you?"_ _

__"Just Nico," Yuzu admitted. "Hes' wonderful but I doubt he can do what you do."_ _

__"Then that's all right, then,” said Mieru, looking happier. Yuzu gathered that she wasn't the sort who liked to be given something out of pity. "I'll talk to the school about getting an internship here. It'll be fun to work with a real hero team!"_ _

___And we can be references for you later when you're ready to apply for a real job,_ Yuzu thought, practicality taking over once again On the other hand, Mieru might decide she liked it here and join their team full time when she graduated, and that would be no bad thing. it was always handy to have someone on the strength who knew how to use divination techniques. where wold the Gamesmen be if not for the help fo the illustrious Bakura Ryou, better known as Omen, who could always put them in the right place at the right time? _ _

__"Do you want me to start now? Mieru went on. "I could do another reading just now to give you guys a point in the right direction. I might get some new information, now that I'm here."_ _

__"Would that work?" Yuzu asked. "I mean, the future is the future, isn't it?"_ _

__"Kind of," said Mieru. "Every choice everyone makes changes the future a little bit. Usually not a lot, but sometimes it makes a huge difference. So even when I got the message about needing to find the Entertainer, I could still have ignored the message, or gone somewhere else. If I'd done that, I wouldn't be here talking to you now, and the future would be different, so I wouldn't have seen what was going to happen next for us right now because it wouldn't necessarily happen. But now that I'm here talking to you, I can see what kind of future talking to you will bring about."_ _

__"Hmm. I guess that makes sense," said Yuzu, who wasn't one hundred percent sure she knew what she'd just heard. "Okay, let's try it. I don't get to have my future told that often."_ _

__Mieru took the apple she'd been playing with and set it gently in the middle of the table._ _

__"Take my hands," she said._ _

__She held them out, and Yuzu reached to clasp them. They felt warm, and gripped her more strongly than she'd expected. Mieru bent her head and stared into the depths of what Yuzu was belatedly realizing was a style of crystal ball._ _

__For a moment, nothing happened, save that Mieru's breathing gradually slowed. Her hands grew cooler in Yuzu's, against what seemed to be all laws of thermodynamics. Her eyes slid half shut, then further, until they were no more than green slits. Her head drooped forwards. Yuzu wondered if she was falling asleep._ _

__Then her head snapped up again, and Yuzu reeled back and might have fallen right off the sofa if her hands hadn't been gripped so tightly, because the face looking back at her wasn't Mieru's anymore. It was still the same physically - same nose, same mouth, same cheekbones - but the configuration had changed subtly, suggesting a grown woman who'd lived a hard life, rather than a girl not even out of school yet. The eyes had become more narrow, and - this was the astounding part - they were no longer green but a reddish brown. they stared into Yuzu's own eyes with alarming directness._ _

__"I was wondering if I'd get a chance to talk to you just now,” she said, and the voice wasn't quite Mieru's either. Like the face, it was that of a grown woman, cool and well-modulated, not unpleasant but not that of someone here to talk about trivialities._ _

__"Who are you?" Yuzu asked._ _

__"My name is Ray," said the woman. "Think of me as your spirit guide."_ _

__"I thought it was psychics who were supposed to have spirit guides," said Yuzu._ _

__"Details. The point is that I am a spirit and that I am here to talk to you, personally. I don't think I have a lot of time before this girl's strength runs out, so I'd appreciate it if we didn't waste time."_ _

__"What are you here for, then?" Yuzu asked._ _

__"To warn you. Things are about to start happening, and you need to be careful. Listen, I know you won’t understand this when I say it, so just remember this: don’t put all your faith in Yuuya. You can’t trust him as much as you think you can.”_ _

__“How can you say that?” Yuzu snapped. “Yuuya is the best, kindest, most honorable person I know!”_ _

__“He isn’t what you think he is. He might not even be what _he_ thinks he is. I told you that you wouldn’t understand.” The woman’s tone was bitter. “Listen, I haven’t got much more time, so don’t argue with me. I need you to do two things for me. First, do you know a place called Skyline City?” _ _

__Yuzu nodded. Of course she knew Skyline City; it was the nearest big city to Maiami. She’d been there a few times with her father to attend shows or visit the shops there._ _

__“Sooner or later, someone is going to ask you to go there. I need you to go and find a girl there called Rin. She needs your help. Can you try to do that for me?”_ _

__Yuzu nodded, a little uncertainly. How was she supposed to find one girl in a whole city, after all? Still, if someone needed her help, she was willing to at least give it a try._ _

__“Good. The other thing is easier, in a way. I want you to go visit your father and get him to tell you about someone called the Quartermaster. He might not want to talk about it, but I’m sure if you dig through the old scrapbooks he keeps you’ll find something.”_ _

__“Okay, but why?”_ _

__“It will help you understand all the things I don’t have time to explain to you,” Ray replied. “Just remember, I’m on your side. I’ll do my best to keep you safe, no matter what.”_ _

__“Safe from _what_?” Yuzu demanded. “What’s so important that I need a random ghost lady to come and protect me from it?” _ _

__But it was clear that the ghost, or whatever it was, had said her piece. Mieru was blinking now, her face settling back into its familiar soft lines._ _

__“Oh,” she said softly, and shook herself. “Wow, that was strong. I was really out of it, wasn’t I? Did I say anything interesting?”_ _

__“I think you were channeling a ghost,” said Yuzu slowly._ _

__“Really? That doesn’t usually happen,” said Mieru. “What did it say?” A look of alarm crossed her features. “It wasn’t Hokuto, was it?”_ _

__“No, no, it wasn’t him!” said Yuzu hastily. “It was a woman. She said I should talk to my dad about something.”_ _

__“Oh.” Mieru looked as though she didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed - relieved because her friend wasn’t speaking to her from beyond the grave, disappointed because the message from the great beyond hadn’t had anything to do with her. “Talk to him about what?”_ _

__“Somebody called the Quartermaster,” said Yuzu._ _

__Mieru shook her head. “The name doesn’t sound familiar.”_ _

__“She said there would be something about him in my dad’s scrapbooks. I guess he must be an old friend or something,” said Yuzu._ _

___Or an old enemy,_ she added silently. After all, there had been a time when her father had been one of the most esteemed heroes in the city. He’d given it all up to raise her, and had later taken on the burden of running a school for young heroes rather than going out and fighting villains himself. Yuzu suspected that, deep down, her father was just too gentle a soul to really enjoy fighting people. That didn't mean, however, that there weren't people out there who would enjoy taking a swing at him. _ _

__"Well, thanks for hearing me out," said Mieru. "I'll leave my contact info, so you can get in touch with me if you find out anything."_ _

__Yuzu nodded. "We'll let you know the minute something comes up."_ _

__Mieru left looking slightly happier than she had when she arrived. Yuzu watched her go in the opposite state. She had felt much happier before ghosts had turned up in her life giving her cryptic messages._ _

___I don't care what anyone says. If I can't trust Yuuya, I can't trust anybody. He would never do anything to hurt anybody._ _ _

__On the other hand..._ _

__She wandered into the lobby and found Nico reading a newspaper._ _

__"How did your consultation go?" he asked._ _

__"Well enough," she said. "Can you hold down the fort for an hour or so, though?"_ _

__"Of course," he said. "Was the young lady's request something urgent, then?"_ _

__"Not really," she replied, "but I need to go home and talk to my dad."_ _

* * *

__

__Shun woke himself up by coughing. His throat itched, and his eyes felt watery._ _

___Allergies,_ he thought muzzily. He'd always had that problem with certain kinds of plants. That was one reason he preferred to stay in the city, where there weren't so many of them to bother him. That thought left him feeling vaguely unsettled. If he was usually in a city, then what was setting off his allergies? He tried to raise a hand to wipe his itching eyes, and discovered that he couldn't. _ _

__"Ahh, I see you're waking up. You stayed under longer than I expected you too. Have you not been getting enough sleep? That's no good - you'll be much more interesting if you have all your wits about you."_ _

__The voice was unfamiliar, but Shun didn't need a name to attach to it to know it belonged to an enemy. No one who wished him well would sound so cheerful about him being unconscious, and no one who was a friend to him would care about him being _interesting_. He opened his eyes. _ _

__His first realization was that he was in a greenhouse, which explained the allergies. It looked like quite a nice greenhouse, from what he could see of it. It was tall enough that actual trees were growing in it, tropical looking things with fern-like fronds or branches that dripped with vines. Flowers bloomed in a rainbow of colors and in every shape and size imaginable, attended by butterflies and tiny darting birds. Somewhere just outside of Shun's line of sight, he could hear a fountain playing. The air was warm and humid, heavily perfumed by the myriad growing things. It would have been pleasant if Shun hadn't been tied to a chair._ _

__Only not exactly _tied_ , he realized a moment later. The chair seemed to be made of wrought iron, and might otherwise have been mistaken for a pretty piece of outdoor furniture. It was only because Shun was so firmly affixed to it, his wrists secured behind its back and his ankles fastened to the legs - that he could notice it had been shaped exactly to accommodate someone being tied to it. What really unsettled him, however, was that he wasn't fastened with rope or chains or leather straps. He was being held in place by a network of thorny vines. The thorns themselves weren't large enough to do him any serious damage, even when he tugged experimentally against them. They were just deep enough to penetrate his clothing and rub his skin. It didn't hurt, but it did itch, which was somehow worse. He squirmed, and had the uncomfortable sensation that they squirmed back. _ _

__"Don't bother trying to escape," said the voice. "Those vines are quite secure. Even if you did get loose, you wouldn't get far. Trust me, in this room, you can't get _anywhere_ if I don't want you to, and I don't." _ _

__Shun glared. Seated some distance away was a young man of about his own age, perhaps a bit younger. He was wearing a more elaborate version of the uniform worn by... yes, by the Uprising, who had taken him captive and no doubt put him in this fix. He was seated in shadow, making it hard to discern his features through Shun’s watering eyes. He was at a small table, which held a tea service and what looked like the remnants of a card game, suggesting that someone had been there until just recently to help Shun's new friend keep watch over him. Shun scowled, and felt a briar scratch his forehead._ _

__"Who the hell are you and why do you have me tied up?" he demanded._ _

__"Now, that isn't a nice way to ask," the stranger said. He sounded delighted by the fact. "If you want information, you should try asking nicely. I might answer, if you asked nicely."_ _

__Shun gritted his teeth. He was _not_ going to beg in front of this mocking stranger, not unless things got a whole lot worse than what they appeared to be just now. _ _

__"Can you at least come over here so I can get a look at you?" he demanded._ _

__The stranger giggled. Shun tried not to wince again. In his experience, men who giggled at times like this were not the kind of men you wanted to be tied up in a room with. They were more the sorts of people who would pull your toenails off one by one and consider it funny._ _

__Then his captor stepped into a beam of moonlight, and all rational thoughts fled Shun's mind._ _

__" _Yuuto_?" he blurted. _ _

__The stranger - _not_ Yuuto, Yuuto had never laughed like that - giggled again. _ _

__"Not quite," he said, "but I saw the record of him at your Heartland Institute. He was a foundling, wasn't he? Left on the school's doorstep when he was a baby. I was a foundling too. We do look a lot alike, don't we? Do you suppose we're long-lost brothers?"_ _

__"Who the hell are you and how do you know about Yuuto?" Shun snarled._ _

__"My name is Yuuri," said the stranger, "and I know a lot of things. I make it my business to stay informed, and I was, hmm, involved in the raid on Heartland. Of course, I did my research on all the notable figures in the school. That's how I know who you are, Kurosaki Shun."_ _

__Shun stared at him. The thought, _Well, now what?_ drifted through his mind. He had come all this way to find out what had happened to his sister and why H.I. had been attacked, and now, here he was, sitting in front of the person who was apparently behind the whole ordeal. This was where he got his answers. He wondered if he would live long enough to do anything with them. _ _

__"Why?" he managed._ _

__Yuuri gave a birdlike tilt of his head. "Why, what?"_ _

__"Why did you come after Heartland? What did we ever do to you?"_ _

__"What did you ever do to me?" He repeated the line as though it were the punch line to a particularly funny joke, one he wanted to savor. "I was born there, did you know? At least, I might have been born. It's possible someone found me under a cabbage leaf."_ _

__"Quit fooling around," said Shun. "I'm in no mood for your jokes."_ _

__"Of course not." The laughter went out of Yuuri's voice with a suddenness that only deepened Shun's unease. "No one ever wants to listen to me."_ _

__It was dawning on Shun that this man was probably very nearly sane, which was a more terrifying thought than thinking he was completely off his rocker. There were, he understood, a lot of ways that a brain could go off-kilter. All heroes learned a little something about mental illness, because sometimes what people thought was evil was just someone who was having trouble functioning in a world not adapted to them. Shun was fine with that. Some people just had their own way of communicating, and once you figured out what it was, you could sort matters out peacefully. Other times, you got someone like this, someone whose brain was clear, precise, and logical, except for one tiny splinter of madness that warped everything else around it the way one tiny spark would ruin a whole barrel of gunpowder. When the steamroller of rationality was being driven by the engine of madness, that was the time to get as far away as possible._ _

__"You destroyed my school because you didn't get enough attention when you were a kid?" Shun sneered. "That's your excuse?"_ _

__"No," said Yuuri. "You can't even begin to understand the complexities of my plan. Suffice to say that I had my reasons for going there."_ _

__"That does not suffice," said Kurosaki. "What's the big idea here? Why are you kidnapping all those people?"_ _

__Yuuri made his eyes go wide and innocent. "Kidnapping? Who is kidnapping? We're recruiting. People come here of their own free will."_ _

__"I didn't," said Shun. He started to point out that his sister hadn't come of her free will either, and decided that if this person didn't know he had a sister then he probably shouldn't tell him. Instead, he said, "I don't think those three who barged in on us wanted to come here, either."_ _

__Yuuri shrugged. "Sometimes people try to interfere. We... collect them. It's quite humane. Rest assured that those three meddlers are safe and unharmed. We will try to persuade them to join our cause. If they agree, we'll take very good care of them. If they refuse, we will find someplace to put them where they will be useful. We aren't going to harm them more than we can help."_ _

__"Uh-huh," said Shun skeptically._ _

__Yuuri smiled. "Don't sound so sullen. Aren't you happy to know that we didn't kill your dear sister just because she got in our way?"_ _

__Shun tried not to let his expression give anything away, but he knew that fight was lost before it was begun. Yuuri laughed._ _

__"What, did you think we didn't know? I told you, I did my research before I started recruiting in Heartland, and we did more research after we captured your sweet sister. We've been keeping her in line by promising her that we wouldn't come after you if she did as she was told. I suppose now we'll have to change our story a bit. It's really a shame you had to interfere."_ _

__He sauntered a bit closer, near enough that he could peer into Shun's eyes. Idly, he ran a finger along the outside of Shun's right wing. Shun fought the urge to flinch. Yuuri chuckled._ _

__"Hush little baby, don't say a word," he crooned in sing-song tones. "Papa's going to buy you a mocking-bird. If that mocking-bird won't sing..." The smile suddenly turned knife-edged. "What do you think we'll do to your sister if you don't behave, hm?"_ _

__"I won't do anything you tell me," Shun snapped, and regretted it instantly._ _

__Yuuri laughed. "You will. We have you trapped and you know it. Would you like to see her? I'll bet that would make you happy."_ _

__He reached into his pocket and took out a little device, which he mounted on his wrist. Pressing a few buttons caused a holographic screen to float above it. Another few buttons, and it showed a blue-tinted image of a bedroom. It was not a particularly unpleasant room. It was merely impersonal, like a hotel room. Shun could see that a young woman was curled up on the bed, sunk in an uneasy sleep. His heart constructed._ _

__"There, you see?" said Yuuri. "Safe and sound, but that could change at any moment. I could have someone slip in there and cut her throat as she sleeps. I could put poison in her breakfast. I'm very good at poisons. I could have the ventilation in her room shut down and pump it full of carbon monoxide, so she'd just fall into a deeper sleep and never wake up. I could lock the door and set the room on fire. I could do so many things. No one would stop me, not even you."_ _

__Shun thrashed against his bonds. "Don't you dare hurt my sister! Hurt her and I'll kill you!"_ _

__"You won't even get out of that chair if I don't let you," said Yuuri. "So. Are you going to follow directions or aren't you?"_ _

__Shun was silent for long moments._ _

__"What do you want me to do?" he asked at last._ _

__"Your friend Yuuto," said Yuuri. "I want to meet him. I want you to bring him here."_ _

__"You want me to betray my best friend," said Shun. He felt sick. This person had his sister under his control. Shun wasn't sure he'd kill her, but he was sure that Yuuri would think nothing of torturing or maiming Ruri if he thought it was the best way to get Shun to act. Shun could not let that happen. But Yuuto was his best friend, as much a brother to him as though they'd been born of the same parents. He couldn't just toss him aside._ _

___But which of them is more likely to survive this place - a skilled fighter who walks through shadows, or a gentle girl who talks to birds?_ _ _

__Shun hated himself for thinking it, but it was how he'd been trained. Sometimes, his instructors said, you had to make the hard choices. He hadn't known how hard it was going to be until now._ _

__"I want you to help me," said Yuuri. "Frankly, I don't care about your sister one way or the other, but I know someone else who does, and that makes her a useful bargaining chip. If you want me to give her back, you had better bring me something I want even more."_ _

__"Why do you want Yuuto? What are you planning on doing to him?" Shun demanded._ _

__"Oh, I'm just planning a little... family reunion," said Yuuri, and laughed. "I think it will be a lot of fun. Don't worry, he won't be hurt. I promise to leave him sound and whole." He laughed again, as though he'd just said something witty._ _

__"You're sure about that?" asked Shun dubiously._ _

__Yuuri smiled. "Really... what difference does it make if I'm not? You don't have another choice."_ _

__Shun sighed. "Tell me what you want to do, then."_ _


	9. The Story of Zarc

"Well," said Hokuto forlornly, "I was right about the prison, I guess." 

Masumi abstained from pointing out that this was not a lot of help, under the circumstances. 

She and her friends, although she didn't know it, had gotten a more gentle awakening than Shun. They had awakened lying on a row of cots with thin blankets tucked over them. Other than that, the place they'd found themselves was not particularly welcoming. They were in a bare cell, with solid stone walls on three sides and a sturdy metal grating on the fourth. They'd all had a go at finding an escape in their own ways, Hokuto using his psychic powers to scan for weaknesses, Yaiba and Masumi making a more direct attempt to bash their way through. So far, all they had managed was to scuff the paint on the walls a little. Swords were not the best weapons for bashing, and although Masumi's shields were solid diamond, they only had her human strength pushing on them. 

"You said we would find something important while we were down here," said Masumi. As the unofficial leader here, she felt it was her duty to keep her team's spirits up. "We aren't going to be able to find very much if we just sit down here forever. Sooner or later, we'll find our way out." 

Yaiba was twirling a knife through his fingers. "They didn't take my swords. You'd think they would have, wouldn't you? I mean, if I had an enemy knocked out I'd sure as hell take his weapons before I locked him up. They must be really confident." 

_Of course they are,_ Masumi thought. _They can turn us into photographs any time they feel like it. Swords and shields are no good against that._

"Maybe they're just stupid," she said. "Maybe they're _over_ confident." 

"I don't know," said Hokuto. "This whole thing feels weird." 

Their musings were interrupted by the sound of marching footsteps. All three of them instinctively drew together to defend each other if necessary. A moment later, two uniformed soldiers appeared and positioned themselves on either side of the cell door. 

"Prepare yourselves to meet the Professor," said one. 

"Mind your manners," the other ordered. "You are in the presence of greatness!" 

Both of them snapped to attention, and a man stepped into view. He was about forty, with dark tan skin and piercing gray eyes. His head was completely bald, but he wore an odd mechanical device that fitted over it and possibly into it. He was dressed in some long purple garment that evoked images of kings and priests. He was certainly a commanding figure, but that wasn't why Masumi and her friends gasped. 

"Akaba Leo!" she exclaimed. 

"I prefer to be called Professor these days," he said calmly. 

The three of them simply stared, mouths open in surprise. They all knew of Akaba Leo. Everyone who went to LDS did. He had founded the school, years ago. A statue of him still stood in the front garden, and his portait hung in the assembly hall. Everyone knew, too, that he had disappeared some years ago, following the death of his daughter. Exactly what had happened next was a subject of much debate. Some people said he'd committed suicide. Some said he'd simply gone on a journey to find himself. Some said he had been holed up in a secret lab somewhere, looking for some way of bringing her back. Some said she'd never died at all, but simply run away or been abducted, and that he'd been searching for her. Put ten people in a room and ask them where Akaba Leo was, and you'd likely get ten different stories. 

_Well, I guess now we know._

"What are you doing here?" Masumi asked. "And where is 'here', anyway?" 

"This place is called the Dark Side," he replied. "So called because its nature is that the sun rarely shines brightly here. The climate’s warmth comes primarily from thermal vents. A fascinating place, really," said the Professor calmly. "But I'm certain that isn't what you're interested in." 

"We want to know what's going on," said Hokuto, with unusual bravery. 

"That is a very complicated question," said Leo. He glanced at his guards. "I don't believe I need to be protected just now. You may go to the exit and wait for me there." 

"Yes, sir!" said the two of them in unison. They snapped off salutes and retreated out of sight. Leo drew up a stool that had been sitting nearby, apparently in preparation for this conversation, and sat down close to the door. Masumi noted that if Yaiba had wanted to, he could have thrust one of his swords through a gap in the grating and skewered the Professor's head like an olive on a cocktail stick. Even as she thought that, she knew it wasn't going to happen. The man had that sort of presence. Attempting any sort of violence against the man who was watching them now with those tired, sad eyes was simply unthinkable. 

"You three go to my school, don't you?" he asked. 

They nodded. 

"I am pleased. It's good to know my school is doing well," he said. 

"Even though you left it," said Masumi. 

"Even though I left it," he agreed. "I was sorry to go, but I'm afraid I had no choice." 

"Why did you leave, then?" Masumi asked. 

"To pursue a higher calling," he said. "One that I could not follow in my own universe. I discovered the entrance to this world to begin building my own society, one that will follow more sensible rules. Sometimes the only way to make something better is to start over from scratch." 

"I don't understand," said Masumi. 

"You know about my daughter, don't you? She was murdered by a villain who broke into my lab to steal one of my machines." There was genuine bitterness in the man's voice as he spoke. "I had been designing a machine that would enhance super abilities. I had intended it for my own use. The Entertainer and Hotblood were my dearest friends, and I wanted to be able to support them better. My powers have always been weak, and I hoped that by the power of science, I would be able to improve myself. The man who murdered my daughter was a nobody, merely some hot-headed young man who was jealous that other people were more famous and popular than he was, and who wanted to use my device to raise himself above everyone else. For a long time, I hated him for taking my precious child from me. 

"But in time, I began to understand that he was immaterial. He was simply a symptom of a larger problem. The world you and I grew up with is full of injustice. Normals envy supers for their powers, and so they use the power of law and politics to hold them back and keep them down. Supers envy normals for their simple lives, resent them for being so helpless and requiring constant protection on one hand and for complicating their lives with laws and restrictions on the other. Weak supers resent those who are stronger than them. Strong supers envy those who are weaker but flashier and therefore more popular. Everyone is constantly jockeying for position, and no one is ever truly happy where they are." He gave the three of them a piercing look. "You three must know. You were the best in the school, or so I've heard. Didn't you feel it? Other students resenting you because they had higher S-levels but you were more popular, or students who got better grades than you but weren't considered number one because you had the greater prowess in battle. You always knew someone was looking to take your place." 

Masumi tried not to let the fact that he'd struck home show on her face. She _had_ felt like that. She knew how it felt to know other people were envying and resenting her. She knew, too, how much she'd sometimes envied the less skilled but more normal students - the ones who made friends easily, who got invited to slumber parties and midnight feasts and all-night study sessions. She'd had to make friends with Hokuto and Yaiba because no one else wanted to deal with her. It wasn't that she disliked them - they were good and loyal friends and she enjoyed their company. It was just that sometimes she'd have liked to do the things that other girls did, too. 

"So what's that got to do with anything?" asked Yaiba. 

Masumi smiled a little. Good old Yaiba - he wasn't one to get bogged down in self-reflection. 

"I told you. I am restructuring the world," he said. "Resentment comes from the feeling that someone else has something that you don't even when both of you are equally deserving, or if you are more deserving than they are. I am building a more fair society. In this new world, there will be a place for everyone and everyone will know exactly where they fit and why. People will be happy because they will know they belong where they are, and they will feel no resentment because they will understand exactly what everyone did to get to their own level. Everything will be clear and simple." 

"And you think that will help?" Masumi asked. 

"It's working well so far," he said. "The people here are happy. They work well together as a team. There is no disharmony here, only cooperation and order. You are welcome to join us, if you wish. We are open to anyone willing to share in our goals." 

"We wouldn't join you if..." Yaiba began, and Masumi clapped a hand over his mouth. 

"I'd like a moment to discuss the idea with my team if you don't mind," she said. 

"Of course," he said. "I will leave you for a few minutes while you consider." 

"Just one question," said Hokuto. "What'll happen to us if we don't decide to take you up on your offer? You'll just send us home again?" 

"Yes," said the Professor, "I will." 

Yaiba blinked. "You will?" 

"Of course," said the Professor. "I am not an unreasonable man. We have limited resources here. There is no benefit to keeping you here if you do not wish to remain. Also, even if I do send you back, you will not be able to return. No one will believe you if you say you went to another dimension and found the long missing, presumed dead Professor Akaba Leo rallying an army." 

_He admits it's an army,_ Masumi thought. She filed that idea away for further consideration. A man who was truly working towards the common good shouldn't need to raise an army to do it. Whatever this man was up to, it wasn't what he said it was. 

"So you'll just let us go," said Yaiba, still testing the idea for verisimilitude. 

"Of course," said the Professor, "I would prefer that you three remain. I am aware of you by reputation, and I am sure that you would all be valuable additions to our community. If you were to choose to remain, I would be able to offer you positions of authority and all the perks that come with such things." 

"I'd like some time to talk it over in private," said Masumi. "Do you mind giving us, say, fifteen minutes to think about it?" 

"Not at all," said the Professor. he stood up and beckoned to his soldiers. "Come along. Our new friends need their privacy." 

They swept off. Masumi listened silently until the sound of their footsteps faded to nothing. 

"Anyone still listening?" she asked Hokuto. 

He shook his head. "Don't think so. And I don't see any place for a hidden cameras anywhere, do you?" 

Masumi took a careful look around. The walls and floor were perfectly blank. If there were any hidden cameras or microphones anywhere, they were too well hidden for the naked eye to detect them. That didn't mean they weren't there, but it did improve the odds somewhat. She decided to chance it. 

"So, what did you think of him?" she asked. 

"He was lying," said Hokuto firmly. "Maybe not about everything, but about most things. He was putting out very strong 'lying' vibes." 

"I think you're right," she agreed. "I don't trust a word he said." 

"So we're going home?" Yaiba asked. 

Masumi considered. They _could_ go home, she was almost sure of that. The reasons the Professor had given were good reasons. They made sense. Of course, it would be just as easy to pump this room full of poison gas and toss their bodies in a ditch, but she wasn't sure he would do that. After all, she and her friends were not the losers and misfits he'd been taking so far. They were popular and well-known. If they went missing, there would be a tremendous stir - the school wouldn't be able to hush it up as it had with the lesser students. They probably would be more trouble disappeared than they would be if they were just telling tall tales with limited proof. 

"I don't think so. not yet," she said. 

"What? Why not?" Hokuto asked. He looked a bit hurt. 

"Because we still don't know what we need to know," she replied. "There's something really big going on here, and I want to know what it is. If we go home now and something bad happens, how will we feel knowing that we had the chance to stop it and didn't? So what I suggest is that we join up. We pretend to be convinced, we agree with everything the people in authority say, we earn their trust. Then, when they trust us, _that's_ when we go back home and tell everyone everything." 

"How will we get home?" Hokuto asked. 

"The same way we got here, more or less," she said. "If we're part of a raiding party, they'll have to send us back to our own world eventually. Once we're there, we can go to the authorities - we can pretend to get captured if we have to. If we do that, we'll have proof. We might have some of those gadgets they used to turn us into pictures. We might even have whatever device they use to move between worlds. We can get a proper team together and shut this whole operation down." 

"Good plan," said Yaiba, nodding encouragingly. "I'm in." 

Hokuto still looked unsure, and Masumi couldn't really blame him. It wasn't that he was a coward. If he'd been a coward, he wouldn't be here. He'd have been somewhere else, making a living telling fortunes. It was just that he was a support member, not a field member. He was supposed to be safe in a control center somewhere, watching events unfold at a distance and offering advice to his team. He wasn't really trained for this sort of thing. Now he was taking his cards out of his pocket and shuffling them, apparently without knowing what he was doing. His teammates waited as he laid them out in a pattern and turned them over. 

"Well?" Masumi asked, as he turned the last one. 

"I'm getting mixed signals," he admitted. "I think it means, 'proceed with caution.'" 

"We'll be cautious, then," Masumi replied. "But we'll stay. Unless you want to go home? I won't blame you if you do. This isn't your kind of work." 

Hokuto looked for a moment as though he'd really like to say, "Yes, I want to go home," but he didn't. he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. 

"I'm your support," he said. "I can't support you if I'm not with you. I'll stay." 

Yaiba clapped him on the back, making him scatter the cards he'd been trying to pick up. 

"Glad to have you aboard, buddy," said Yaiba. 

Masumi smiled, and Hokuto smiled tentatively back. 

"Good, then we're all agreed," she said. "We're joining the Uprising." 

* * *

Yuzu peered through the door to the kitchen and found her father chopping carrots. 

"Hi, Dad," she said. 

He jumped, scattering carrot sticks. Then he smiled warmly at her. 

"Yuzu, I wasn't expecting you," he said. "Slow day at the office?" 

"Actually, business is picking up," she said. "But that doesn't mean I can't come home for dinner once in a while." 

"Always glad to have you," he assured her. 

Yuzu smiled back at him. Her father really was a surprisingly good cook, if you didn't mind spicy foods. Sometimes they were a bit much for her, but she had found that after a few days without his cooking, she missed it. 

"By the way," she said, "do you still have those old scrapbooks?" 

"Of course," he said. "I'd never get rid of them. Boy, those were the good old days. What put those into your head?" 

Yuzu weighed her words with care. She was an honest girl by nature, and she was not in the habit of lying to her father about anything, even when the question was something like, "Who broke the lid to the crock pot?" or "did you just spill this bottle of water?" On the other hand, she wasn't sure she wanted to say something to him like, "A girl came to the office today, and she channeled some sort of ghost who told me I should read through your scrapbooks." That was the sort of thing that would lead to a lot of unproductive conversation. 

"Just curious, I guess," she said. "Nico tells us a lot about what the old days were like when he was working with you guys, but he wasn't exactly out in the field with you, was he?" 

Her father smiled. "Getting curious about your dad's glory days, huh? Well, they're probably in that big cabinet in the living room. Dig around for them if you want. I wouldn't mind looking through them myself." 

Yuzu went into the living room and rummaged around in the cabinet under the book shelves until she found a stack of old photo albums. As the scents of dinner being prepared wafted through the room, she leafed through the books, wondering what it was she was looking for. 

Still, it was interesting, looking at the old albums. She didn't think she had actually done so before. It had always been stuff in the past, something important to his father and his friends but of little practical interest to her. By the time she was old enough to start proper hero training and might have had more interest in her father's own escapades, she had been on her way to the Academy and hadn't had the chance to dig through old books. 

The oldest one seemed to be mostly pictures of her father when he was about the age that Yuzu was now - a young hero just starting out. Even back then, he was clearly good friends with Sakaki Yuushou and Akaba Leo. It was interesting, seeing them all so young and vibrant. It was strange to think of her loud, energetic father as not being vibrant, but she could tell the difference looking at these photos. Her father was still as boisterous as ever, but there was still something a bit worn about him. Losing his two best friends had taken a lot out of him. The idea gave her an odd little pang. She had done some thinking, as part of her hero training, about what it would really mean to put her life on the line for someone else. she though she could do it if it meant protecting someone she loved. she even thought she could do it for the sake of an innocent person. If it really came down to it, she could sacrifice her life because that was what it meant to be a hero. She hadn't given as much though to what it would mean to her father if she died. She had told her self that he would understand - that he was a hero too, and had done the same thing when he was her age. Now she found herself wondering if he would really be able to stand losing her on top of everything else. 

_Well, he won't. I'm not going to die. Not yet, anyway._

She finished leafing through the first book and set it aside. Nothing in there had been very illuminating. She tried the next one. This one was from later in her father's career, around the time when the You Show agency had been at its prime. Some of the faces in this book were unfamiliar- junior heroes who had come and gone, establishing themselves before going off to other cities or else deciding that hero work was not for them. Yuzu recognized a few who had gone on to other careers elsewhere. They were interesting, and so she gave them careful attention even when they weren't what they were looking for. 

She knew when she had found the right photo even before she read the caption. It was one of those moments that happened a bit at a time, layers of realization flicking past her like the pages of a book rather than flowing together in time's usual smooth stream. The first moment was only a glance out of the corner of her eyes, a glance that triggered the thought, _Oh, that's a nice picture of Yuuya._ Then she did a double-take, because these pictures were taken a few years before Yuuya had been born, and the young man in this picture was roughly the same age as Yuuya was now. She stared at it. The costume wasn't right and the hair style wasn't right, but the face was very clearly Yuuya's. She felt a sick feeling settle in her stomach as she remembered Ray saying, "Don't trust Yuuya. He isn't what he seems..." 

_It has to be some sort of coincidence,_ she told herself. _This is some relative of Mr. Sakaki's who just happens to have a strong family resemblance._ Of course, it would have to be a relative she'd never met or heard of before... 

She knew even before she'd looked that the caption would identify him as the Quartermaster. 

"Dad," she said, and was amazed at how level her voice sounded, "who's the Quartermaster?" 

There was a long pause. It was long enough to make her wonder if he hadn't heard her. She was just wondering if she had the nerve to ask again before her father drifted into the room. 

"You found a picture of him, huh?" he said. His tone was oddly flat, lacking his usual fierce delivery. "I hadn't though about him in years. Kind of an old shame, I guess. I always wondered if there was something more we could have done for him. Like, maybe if we'd listened to him more, if we gave him more support, he wouldn't have ended up the way he did." 

"What happened to him?" Yuzu asked, although she thought she could make a guess. 

"He's dead," said her father. "At least, we think he is. No one's ever seen him again, anyway, and it was a pretty big explosion." 

Yuzu nodded solemnly. "What happened? Can you tell me? Who _was_ he?" 

"One of our junior heroes, from way back in the day," her father replied. "Had a funny name... Zarc, that's what it was. An academy orphan, one of those who just turn up out of nowhere. I really thought he was going to be big someday... maybe even bigger than Yuushou was. He had the sparkle, you know? That gift that makes people sit up and go 'wow' even if all he was doing was walking to the store for bread." 

Yuzu nodded again. She knew the type. Not one hero in a thousand had the gift, but the ones who did invariably went places. Kaiba Seto, the illustrious White Dragon had it. Manjoume "Black Thunder" Jun had it. The Kaiser and Phoenix Guy had it. Even when they weren't as powerful or as accomplished as some of those who didn’t (if Mutou Yuugi covered his striking hair with a hoodie, no one even looked twice at him) they were always successful and famous. 

"Well," said her father, "this guy was good, I mean, really good. He was going to make it big someday. And I think that's what made it all go wrong..." 

* * *

Zarc was going to make it big. Everyone knew that. He had been an academy orphan, which was the way a lot of the biggest heroes got there start. There was something about that sort of fairy tale beginning that captured people's imaginations. There had been a time when the most powerful heroes had been considered touched by the gods, or even actual gods themselves. Even in this day and age, when science had taken some of the mystique out of superpowers, people still liked to think that sometimes a hero just sprang into being without the benefit of mother or father. Zarc had picked up on this, and had built it into his persona. He liked to say that some people were left by the stork, but he had been left on the doorstep by dragons. 

He flew through his training with flying colors, quickly becoming the strongest physical fighter in his year, and eventually, in his entire school. His knack was to make things split themselves into four equal pieces, and then, if he chose, to snap back again. He learned to use his talents with style, too. It wasn't just that he could make an enemy's weapon fall to bits or their getaway vehicle turn into so much scrap. He had the precision to turn a villain's clothes into so many rags and leave them trying to look sinister in their boxers. He could throw a rubber ring at his opponents, make it fly apart with perfect accuracy and then re-fasten itself around his opponent's ankles so that they'd fall flat on their face. In the hands of someone who was less of a showman, his talent would have been functional but perhaps not so impressive. In his hands, it became a showstopper, and he thought of new and more entertaining ways of using it every day. He enjoyed being a hero, but even more, he enjoyed having an audience. 

Which was why, as soon as he graduated, he asked to be admitted to the You Show agency. Even then, Sakaki Yuushou had been known as a great entertainer as well as a hero, and Zarc had wanted to learn from the best. He had fit in well there, and for a while, he'd been happy. He and his new team had enjoyed some adventures together. They'd broken up the notorious Jade Snake gang, they'd apprehended the White Claw, they had saved the mayor from the Darkwater cult. Zarc had been building up a share of fame - not just local fame, but the kind of fame that got him recognized even in places outside Maiami. There were whispers that any day now he would be tapped to join one of the bigger and more famous agencies. 

Then had come the night when the Delusionist had stolen some technology from a lab associated with LDS. Zarc had gone after him with the rest of the team. All of them had been there that night - not just the Entertainer and Hotblood and the Innovator, but even all the other trainee heroes and lesser partners, ten of them in all. It could have been any of them who had cornered the Delusionist in a maze of secret tunnels just outside the city. It could have been anyone, but it had been Zarc, and Zarc had failed. 

The trouble was that Zarc was a purely physical fighter, and a strong one. He had never needed to do anything to beat an opponent but to tear down whatever obstacles were in his way and then create new ones to put in the path of his enemy. The Delusionist was not the sort of enemy he knew how to deal with. Zarc had been unprepared for illusions, for tricks and puzzles and deceptions at every turn. He had tried to fight anyway, and he had lost, and the Delusionist had escaped the city with his loot in tow, and he'd never been seen again. 

The rest of the team had tried to comfort Zarc. No one could win all the time, they said. He'd been at a disadvantage from the start, he was young and inexperienced, and no one blamed him for not faring better against someone older and more cunning. People had tried to explain this to him, but their words fell on deaf ears. He'd brooded, and in that state, he had begun to lose his focus. He'd fumbled his next capture, when next he and the team had gone out on a mission. It hadn't been a disaster - the Entertainer had come through in the end, as he usually did - but it had only deepened Zarc's feelings of inadequacy. He'd spent more and more time alone, obsessively watching recordings of his battle with the Delusionist and the press coverage that had followed. 

Then one day he had been out wandering around on patrol, and he had overheard some girls talking to each other outside a bookstore. one had a magazine that she was showing to the other. 

"Isn't he cool?" she was asking. 

"I know, I love his style," the other gushed. 

Zarc had edged closer for a better look, expecting to find them cooing over one of the headliner heroes, or perhaps one of the new young up-and-comers. He might have even been secretly hoping they were looking at him. Instead, he was surprised to find that they were looking at a photo of one of the villains. It had been a revelation. People, he realized, loved the heroes for keeping them safe, but they loved the villains, too, if they were the right kind of villain. As soon as he'd gotten home, he'd gone straight to one of the office computers and done some extensive research on the popularity of villains, and he'd drawn some remarkable conclusions. It seemed that, while a villain who committed brutish crimes and had a face like a deep-sea fish would probably be scorned, a villain who was well-presented and well spoken, and who stuck to "acceptable" crimes like jewel thievery, could be treated almost as well as the heroes, possibly better. There was something enticing about someone who was able to skirt the edges of the law, who did the things that other people wished they could do but didn't because they were afraid of running afoul of the law. Zarc learned, too, that the Delusionist, who was blond and slim and wore good clothes, who was clever and witty and never crass or crude... at the moment, he was even more popular than Zarc had ever been. 

Zarc had thought about this. He thought about what he really wanted out of the hero business. He thought about the fact that he never went out into public without wearing a mask. he thought about how hard it would be for anyone to know who he was if he wasn't carrying his ID card. he'd thought, and he'd practiced a lot, learning how to split things not only into fours, but into sixteens and sixty-fours, and then into smaller and smaller bits until there were too many to count. He'd told himself he was learning to be a better hero, and he'd gone on telling himself that right up until the night when he'd turned the back wall of a jewelry store into dust and walked out with a sack full of necklaces and rings. 

Later, he'd abandoned the loot in a children’s playground on the other side of town. The idea had never been to make himself rich. The idea had simply been to prove that he could be a villain, if he'd wanted to. He'd done it, and he'd watched the TV reports and listened to the speculation, and he'd read the posts on the internet, and he'd felt that lovely warm glow he always got when he knew everyone was thinking about him. 

After that, he'd made several more heists in secret. He'd carried off a valuable artifact from a museum. he'd made off with a painting in the middle of an artist's reception. he'd stolen a number of other jewels, some of them straight off the necks of the people who'd been wearing them at the time. He'd spent hours in secret redesigning his costume, searching for the perfect balance between style and distinction. It had become like a drug. Every time his hero work began getting him down, he would slip out under cover of darkness and take up the role of his darker persona, revel in the freedom it gave him, and watch the adoration of his fans mount up. 

And then one day he hadn't shown up to work. He couldn't face Yuushou and Shuzo anymore, couldn't live with their straightforward honesty and conviction to the cause. It wasn't his cause any longer. He'd been forced to admit, if only to himself, that he no longer wanted to be a hero. He wanted to be a star, and if being a villain was the best way to do it, then that was what he would do. He had completely taken on the persona of Splitter, the villain who shattered anything in his path. He used his inside knowledge of the heroing world to avoid every effort to capture him, and he'd carried off exploit after exploit. 

But audiences were fickle things. Zarc had quickly realized that he couldn't keep his ratings up by doing the same old thing over and over forever. He needed fresh new acts to keep peoples' attention. Gradually, he had given up his initial promise to himself to stick to simple things like stealing. He needed to think bigger, to keep exceeding himself. He had a go at kidnapping, stealing a popular movie star and holding her for ransom. He'd managed to extract a considerable amount of money from the city by proving he could and would destroy a nearby dam if his demands weren't met. He'd disassembled a large building and reassembled it on the other side of town, much to the delight of the environmental protestors who had so vehemently opposed it being built, and much to the annoyance of the people who owned it. His fans stayed on the edge of their seat, wondering what he would do next. 

What he would do next... that became his all-consuming thought. Perhaps he'd realized, by then, just what he had turned his life into. Any enjoyment he had originally taken out of his life of crime had been subsumed by the never-ending preoccupation of what to do next. Every step he took had to be bigger, grander, more surprising. There was simply no end to it, and no matter how hard he worked one time, he knew it would just be that much harder the next time. He looked at his future, and he realized that he was running out of options. Sooner or later, there would come a time when he simply couldn't do any more. When that day came, he knew, he would lose the admiration of his audience, which was the one thing he lived for. 

It was shortly after that when one of his old teammates came back into his life again. Akaba Leo had been the support member of the You Show team. His own superpowers were weak, but his mind was brilliant, and he built all manner of machines and devices to help his friends in battle and to raise his own abilities. To that end, he had begun developing a machine meant to increase a person’s superpowers. He’d hoped to use it on himself, so that he would be able to better aid his comrades. It was his bad luck that Zarc got wind of it. 

What happened next was pieced together from Leo’s fragmented memories and what few security cameras survived the incident. What was known was that Zarc fought his way into Leo’s laboratory and attempted to seize control of the machine. Leo himself attempted to stop him, but his mechanical devices were no match for Zarc’s power to destroy any physical object. Leo was overpowered and might have died that night, if it hadn’t been for his daughter Ray. Unlike her father, she had been born with strong powers, the ability to deflect the effects of other people’s talents and turn them against their users. She threw herself between Zarc and her father and attempted to subdue him. The two of them fought, but he was able to break free of her and take control of the machine. Ray grabbed hold of him as the machine’s power flowed through him, and then... 

* * *

“Blam,” said Yuzu’s father, with a surprising lack of animation. Normally narrating anything that involved a lot of explosions would have had him pacing around the room, waving his arms and shouting, and possible some actual fireworks, but now he sounded subdued. 

“That’s it?” said Yuzu. “They just... blew up?” 

“Something like that,” said her father. “We never found any trace of them. They were both just gone. Not even any... you know. Bits.” He looked uncomfortable, as any caring father might when discussing the demise of a friend’s child. “Leo was pretty messed up, but he got better - physically, at least. Mentally... I dunno. Ray was her daddy’s little girl, and he couldn’t stand losing her. Well, I understand how he must have felt. If anything ever happened to you... Anyway, he started pulling away from us after that. We tried to comfort him, but he just wasn’t having it. He burrowed deeper into his studies and experiments, and after a while... well, Yuushou had Yuuya to think of, and I had you, and I guess it must have been too hard for him to spend time with us hearing about all the things you and Yuuya were getting up to. He stopped speaking to us, and then one day, he just packed up his stuff and left.” 

“Left? Where to?” Yuzu asked. 

Her father shrugged. “Search me. Search everybody. He just decamped, left a note behind saying he couldn’t live in a world without his Ray so he was leaving to find a better one. A lot of people figured that was his way of saying he would end it all, but he was a super-scientist and they do have ways of going to other worlds. I always thought he must have gone to one of those, someplace where there was nothing to remind him of his past. He left behind his wife and another kid, too. Little guy was only maybe three or four years old. He probably doesn’t even remember much of his dad anymore.” 

“How sad,” Yuzu murmured. 

“It really is,” her father agreed. “So now you get why we don’t talk about all that much. I lost a good friend because of Zarc. Two friends, because Zarc was my friend too, once.” 

Yuzu nodded solemnly. “I understand. I’m sorry to stir it up.” 

“Well, you were bound to get curious eventually,” said her father. “It might as well be now as some other time. Anyway, I haven’t given up hope. Someday, Leo might get tired of moping and come home.” 

“He just might,” Yuzu agreed. She sniffed. “Is something burning?” 

Her father gave a yelp and hurried off to the kitchen. Yuzu only half registered his disappearance. She was thinking about the story her father had just told her. 

Ray was real. She was a real person, who had lived before Yuzu had been born, and who had apparently died tragically while trying to protect her father and his work. She wasn’t just someone a girl with an overactive imagination had dreamed up. Yuzu could understand why someone like that would be hanging around as a ghost, trying to find some sort of closure. 

It was strange, though, she reflected. First Ray and Zarc had vanished in a bang without leaving so much as a trace behind. Then Akaba Leo had likewise vanished. A few years later, Yuuya’s father had been attacked by a masked man, and they had also disappeared into thin air. Granted, those sorts of things tended to happen to professional heroes - it was part of the risks they took when they got the job. Still, so many people, all of whom knew each other, disappearing one by one... 

_It has to be linked somehow. It can’t just be a coincidence._

She had no doubt that there was a connection somewhere, but where could it be? The events were spaced out over years - over more than a decade, if you factored in the undeniable truth that things around here were getting weird, and that the weirdness seemed to be linked somehow to whatever Zarc had been doing. She wondered if this was a sign that Akaba Leo was out there and working on some project. Or... was it possible that the masked man who had once tried to kidnap Yuuya and who had taken Sakaki Yuushou from the world was the same man who had once done something similar to Akaba Leo and his daughter? After all, no one had ever found a body, not even a piece of one. He might still be out there somewhere, biding his time... 

_I should tell Yuuya about this._

And yet, Ray had told her not to. She had said that Yuuya couldn’t be trusted, not completely. Why would she say that? What did she know about it? Yuzu shook herself; it was all too strange. 

_Later,_ she decided. There was no point in worrying her friends with something she didn’t fully understand. For now, she would just have to keep quiet about it, keep watch, and wait to see if she could learn something more. 

Her father poked his head around the doorway. 

“Dinner’s on the table,” he said. “Are you ready to eat?” 

“Sure, Dad,” she said, forcing a smile. 

_I don’t have to listen to what some ghost says. I trust Yuuya. He’d never do anything to hurt anybody, and he’s got nothing to do with this Zarc person._

That was what she told herself, and on some level she even believed it. But the seeds of doubt were there...


	10. Partnerships

Sora sat in the lobby, eating a cupcake and watching Nico work. Other boys of his age, in his position, might have been in the gym watching the heroes train. Sora, on the other hand, had seen plenty of training already. It was practically all they did, over there in the Dark Side, and many of the higher-ups he worked with had talents more impressive than, for example, Gongenzaka’s ability to stand very, very still. Sora had used the gym a few times himself, because there was no point in letting himself get out of shape just because he was away from camp, but when it came to sheer fascination, nothing in this building beat watching Nico at work. 

The last couple of years had shaped Sora’s view of the world in a number of ways, the greatest of them being his views on how supers and normals should interact. The way his new friends had explained it seemed simple and sensible. Heroes protected the normals because if they didn’t make themselves seem useful and friendly, the normals would rise up against them and turn them out of society. Supers put up with normals because they liked having someone to admire them and make them feel useful. Neither side really liked the other, but both put up with each other out of fear of what would happen if dislike ever turned into conflict. The Professor was the one who’d had the courage to say, “Let’s stop pretending and settle this once and for all.” Well, so far, so good. 

But Nico didn’t fit the mold, and that was what fascinated Sora. He might have been in a subordinate position to the heroes, but you’d never know it to look at him. Far from acting afraid or resentful, his attitude towards his charges resembled that of an indulgent uncle at a child’s piano recital. He seemed genuinely fond of them, appreciated what they did, but did not seem to hold them in any particular awe. And why should he? Sora had to admit, if there was anyone around here who was actually getting any work done, it was Nico. Oh, the heroes might go out and scrap a bit with the local crooks, but so far, they hadn’t accomplished anything big yet. Nico, on the other hand, spent all day answering phone calls, lining up potential sponsorships, buying advertising, monitoring the media, balancing the budget, and who knew what else. Sora had no doubt that, despite Yuuya and the others’ best efforts, this place would fall apart if Nico wasn’t keeping it ticking along. 

He also had a keen eye for what his young charges needed and wanted. It was amazing. Somehow, if Yuzu needed a fresh pair of headphones, or if Yuuya had lost his running shoes, or if Gongenzaka had run out of protein drinks, Nico was prepared to sort it out. If he hadn’t sworn up and down that he had no S-levels whatsoever, Sora would have sworn the man was a psychic. Even now, it seemed like Sora had only to start thinking that his sugar levels were getting a little low, when Nico would turn up at his side with a tray of cupcakes or plate of chocolate chip cookies. 

“Hey, Nico,” he said. 

Nico glanced up from something he’d been typing. “Yes? Did you need something?” 

“Do you enjoy your job?” Sora blurted. 

Nico’s eyebrows rose. “Now, what brought that on, I wonder?” 

“No special reason,” said Sora, mentally crossing his fingers. “It’s just that you work so hard and you don’t get much of the glory. I wondered if maybe sometimes you get jealous.” 

Nico sat back at his desk, giving the question its due consideration. 

“I suppose when I was a boy, I was a bit jealous,” he said. “I think every child dreams of growing up to be a superhero, the way they dream of growing up to be an astronaut or a movie star. But once I grew up a bit, I realized that I don’t have the makings of a hero, and that’s all right. I’d be no good at all in a fight. I am good at this. I like organizing and sorting and making things run smoothly. After all, someone has to do it.” 

“You don’t get a lot of credit for it, though,” said Sora. 

“I get credit where it counts,” said Nico. “I don’t need the whole world to admire me. I know my heroes can’t get by without me. Then again, I couldn’t get by without them. It’s a partnership, you see. Each of us has something unique to offer the other.” 

“A partnership,” Sora murmured, trying on the word like a pair of unfamiliar shoes. It had never occurred to him that humans and normals could be partners at anything. 

_It isn’t possible,_ he told himself. _That’s just not how things work._ But it was hard to think that way when he could see the living proof sitting there in front of him, answering emails. 

Just then, the telephone rang. Nico picked it up on the third ring, on the principle that if he answered too quickly it would make the office look desperate for work. 

“Good afternoon, You Show Hero Agency, how may I help you?” he asked smoothly. After a moment, his jaw dropped. “Mayor Sawatari, this is a... No, indeed not, sir! I can _assure_ you that nothing could be further from the truth! ... No, indeed, I’m sure there must be some mistake. You have my assurance that we will look into this matter very thoroughly indeed, and I will release a statement later this evening. ... Yes, of course sir, I agree with you completely. This matter simply cannot stand.” He hung up the phone with more force than seemed strictly necessary, before looking up at Sora with an expression Sora had never seen on the normally cheerful Nico Smiley’s face. Generally the man lived up to his name, but now he looked to be on the verge of panic. 

“Could you do me a favor, please?” he asked, “Run along and find Mr. Sakaki and the others. I’m afraid they’re going to want to hear this.” 

“Is something wrong?” asked Sora. It surprised him how uneasy he felt. He was here strictly to observe, after all. What difference did it make to him whether the agency succeeded or failed? He was merely here to watch and report. For all he knew, this emergency was something his own people had tossed out as a test of some kind, or even a part of their overall plan. It wasn’t as though he knew why the higher-ups had taken an interest in Sakaki Yuuya. All the same, he was worried. Maybe it was just seeing the normally unflappable Nico looking upset that was rubbing off on him. 

_He’s a normal. They scare easy. I’m sure it’s nothing,_ he thought. 

“I’d rather explain it when everyone else is here,” said Nico. 

“Okay. I’ll go get ‘em,” said Sora, and scampered off towards the gym, where the others had been training together. 

_It’ll be nothing. Even if it isn’t, so what? Maybe if I’m lucky, the agency will be shut down after this, and I can go do a more interesting job._

That was entirely likely. Oddly, though, realizing that didn’t make him feel any better. 

* * *

“Gon-chan, do you have a minute?” 

Gongenzaka set down the weight he’d been lifting. 

“Sure, Yuzu, what can I do with you?” 

“Do you mind if we talk somewhere private?” she asked. “I’ve got something on my mind... it’s probably nothing, but I’d feel better if I talked to someone about it.” 

“We could go up on the roof,” he suggested. 

“That will work,” said Yuzu. “Thanks.” 

“The man Gongenzaka is always prepared to listen to his friends!” Gongenzaka declared. He began ushering her towards the stairs. “Though I have to wonder, why me and not Yuuya? You two are so close, I thought you told each other everything.” 

Yuzu felt her face warming. “That’s just it. This kind of has to do with him. I know I’ll have to talk to him about it eventually, but ... I’d rather run it by someone else first.” 

Gongenzaka’s face clouded. “Is this about...?” 

For a moment, Yuzu had no idea how the sentence in his head was ending. Then she suddenly _did_ know, and her face became even redder. 

“No, no, I didn’t mean anything like that!” she said. “Look, this is serious, okay? I really need help.” 

Gongenzaka laid a steadying hand on her shoulder, and she felt herself begin to relax again. Good old Gon-chan. It was as if he could funnel the stress right out of you. It was good to know an immovable man. 

“Of course,” he said. “What are friends for?” 

They reached the roof. The You Show building wasn’t as big as some of the other ones around - certainly it was no skyscraper - but it was high enough to offer a good view and, more importantly, a sense of being away from the everyday concerns. Yuzu looked up at the sky and wished fleetingly that she was the sort of hero who had the power of flight. It was easy to imagine that up there, all her problems and worries would just fade away into the clouds. 

“So, what’s on your mind?” Gongenzaka asked. 

“It’s hard to know where to begin,” she said. “I mean... there’s no one who knows Yuuya better than you and I. If anyone should trust him, it’s us.” 

Gongenzaka looked puzzled, but he said, “Of course I trust him. He’s my best friend, and one of the best people I know.” 

“You’re right,” said Yuzu. She sighed. “There’s no one more caring and selfless than Yuuya. That’s why I feel bad even thinking that he might... I don’t know. I shouldn’t even be considering this, but it’s just weird.” 

Gongenzaka didn’t say anything. He seemed to sense that Yuzu needed a few moments to sort herself out. Instead, he simply stood, gazing down at the sparse traffic as though it completely absorbed his attention. 

At last, Yuzu was able to say, “Do you know much about what Yuuya’s dad did, back when he was a hero?” 

“A bit,” said Gongenzaka. “I was just a kid back then. I remember how much everyone respected him.” 

“Yeah.” Yuzu paused for a bit longer. There was still a chance that she could change her mind, go back downstairs, and pretend that none of this actually mattered. Instead, she said, “I went looking through some of my dad’s stuff today. Newspaper clippings and stuff, about the good old days.” 

“And you found something that’s bothering you,” Gongenzaka guessed. 

“Yes. Gon-chan, there used to be a guy working here called Zarc...” She filled her friend in on the story, as much as she understood of it. Gongenzaka listened gravely. 

“Well, that’s pretty awful,” he said, “but what has it got to do with Yuuya?” 

“I don’t know,” said Yuzu. “It’s just... there were pictures of this Zarc person, and he looks so much like Yuuya it’s scary. It’s not even that they could have been brothers. It’s more that all you’d have to do is change the hairstyles a bit and they’d look _exactly_ alike.” 

“Well, sometimes people do look alike,” said Gongenzaka. 

“Have you ever met someone exactly like you? Or me?” Yuzu asked. “So much that you couldn’t even tell the difference when you stared at them?” 

“Well, no,” he admitted. 

“Me neither,” she said. “And there’s more.” She explained what had happened when the fortune teller girl had come to consult with her. Gongenzaka’s face creased in a faint frown. 

“You may have something there,” he said at last. 

Yuzu’s spirits fell. “You really think that there’s some connection between Yuuya and this Zarc person?” 

“I don’t know,” he said. “There’s a connection somewhere, but darned if I know where it is. We just don’t know enough about any of them - about Zarc, or Ray, or even about Leo and Mr. Sakaki. But we do know Yuuya, and I reckon we know him a lot better than this Ray person does. Maybe she doesn’t think he can be trusted because she knows what the connection between Yuuya and Zarc is, or maybe she only thinks she knows. Maybe what you heard wasn’t Ray at all. Maybe it was someone trying to trick you. Maybe this fortune teller lady isn’t as trustworthy as you think. We just don’t know. What we do know is, we know Yuuya, and we know we can trust him. So instead of worrying about whether we can or not, I think instead we should be trying to find out more about what’s going on around here. The more information we have, the better decisions we’ll be able to make.” 

Yuzu smiled. “You’re right. I really shouldn’t have been worrying. Yuuya would never hurt anybody, would he?” 

“That’s right. He hasn’t got a mean bone in his body,” said Gongenzaka. He patted her on the shoulder, which, given the size of his hand, meant he was also patting a certain amount of her back and arm as well. 

“You know what I think we should do?” she said. “I think we should pay a visit to the LDS School.” 

“What for?” Gongenzaka asked. 

“To see if we can talk to the headmaster,” she replied. “He’s Akaba Leo’s son, if I remember right. He might know something about this Ray and her history. Maybe he can fill in some of the missing pieces.” 

Gongenzaka stroked his chin. “You know, that’s not a half-bad idea. Okay, next time things get quiet and we have a little down-time, we’ll head down there and have a chat.” 

Yuzu nodded. She felt much better after talking to Gongenzaka. He was right - she never should have doubted Yuuya for an instant. 

All the same, she was interested in talking to the head of LDS. 

_Maybe he’ll know more about what really happened..._

* * *

Yuuto was uneasy. That was nothing new about that - he hadn’t been truly easy in his mind since students had started disappearing from Heartland. Right now, thought, what he was worrying about was Shun, and that was a new and troubling development. Shun had always been the fiercer of the two of them, the one Yuuto had expected to endure any hardship without quailing. He had always thought that if one of them fell apart, he would be the one to do it, while Shun was the one who glared at him and told him he needed to pull himself together. After all, Shun was fighting for his sister, and Yuuto had no doubt that Shun would tear the universe apart if that was what it took to get her back. 

And yet, here was the nagging sense that something was wrong. Yuuto hadn’t felt good about Shun taking that position in LDS, but he’d gone along with it because it was the best lead they’d had at the moment - practically the _only_ lead they had. At the same time, Yuuto hadn’t been able to bring himself to accept Akaba’s offer. Maybe it was that he felt he had a better chance of finding something if he was free to move around, rather than attached to a single place. Maybe he just didn’t feel safe in a school environment anymore. It might even be that he didn’t fully trust Akaba, although he had no reason not to. 

_I don’t think I like that tendency in myself._ He hadn’t always been the most social person, but he hadn’t immediately distrusted every stranger he met, either. He wondered if he would ever be able to make friends again after all this was over. 

And now there was something wrong with Shun. Yuuto had felt it, the last couple of times they’d met. Shun had never been the most outgoing of men, either. He was always the kind who kept his thoughts to himself until he was sure he was ready to express them, but now Yuuto thought he sensed something new - an edginess, a reservation - that hadn’t been there before. If he hadn’t known better, he’d have been sure his best friend was keeping secrets from him. 

_He wouldn’t do that, though. This mission is too important to us. He’s my friend. It must be my imagination. I’m so used to the two of us working together all the time that being apart from him is making me nervous, that’s all._

The lightest breezes tousled his hair, and a moment later, a winged figure dropped silently out of the sky. Yuuto breathed a sigh of relief. Shun had arrived for their daily check-in. 

“You’re late,” Yuuto told him. 

Shun gave him a wry smile. “I had homework to finish.” 

“Really?” asked Yuuto, raising an eyebrow. 

“Not really,” said Shun. “But pretending I’m doing it keeps up appearances. Some people invited me to join their study group, and I lost track of time.” 

Yuuto felt a pang. It felt like a million years ago that he had been doing homework and studying with friends. For the first time, he regretted that he hadn’t taken the offer to attend LDS. It wouldn’t have been like Heartland, but... 

“So,” Shun went on, “have you learned anything new?” 

“Not much,” Yuuto admitted. “The most interesting gossip I’ve heard lately is that there was some sort of dustup between two of the local heroes - some sort of turf war. It’s interesting, though, because one of the ones involved is the one who fought those strange masked people earlier - the ones who came through a portal.” 

Shun gave him a keen look. “Did you learn anything new? Could one of them be working for the enemy?” 

Yuuto shook his head. “Your guess is as good as mine. I wanted to consult with you before I followed up on it. I’m thinking of approaching the agency where one of them works and see if I can ferret out anything.” 

“Don’t do anything reckless,” said Shun. “Scope the place out first. Figure out what you’re getting into before you commit to anything.” 

Yuuto gave his friend a worried look. Shun’s tone sounded urgent, enough to make Yuuto think that his old friend was genuinely afraid for him. He wondered all over again what Shun had been up to these last few days. 

“Is everything okay where you are?” he asked. “You haven’t run into any problems, have you? It probably isn’t too late for me to join you if you think you need help...” 

“Everything is fine,” said Shun sharply. “It’s you I’m worried about. There’s a chance that one of those heroes you’re investigating could be with the enemy. That could mean they know who you are. You need to watch your step, since I can’t be there to watch it for you.” 

“You don’t sound like everything is fine,” said Yuuto. “What has been going on at that school of yours?” 

“Nothing of interest,” said Shun. “I’ve just had some time to think, that’s all.” 

“About what?” 

“Everything,” said Shun. “It’s time for the two of us to admit that we’re up against something bigger than we are. This isn’t just about Heartland, or about my sister. We know there are a lot of our enemies, that their numbers are growing, and that they’re well-organized and well-supplied. We’re just a couple of kids going up against an army. We can’t afford to be stupid, and there’s no room for mistakes.” 

“I know that,” said Yuuto. “We’ve been over it before. What’s gotten into you tonight, Shun?” 

“Nothing,” he said, turning away. “Just thinking. Anyway, do you want to hear what I’ve been doing or not?” 

“Yes, I do,” said Yuuto. Maybe that would get to the root of whatever was eating Shun. 

“People have been disappearing in LDS, just like they were in Heartland,” said Shun. “The difference is, this time, there was a witness.” 

Yuuto felt his pulse quicken. “So you think you might know who’s behind all this?” 

“Not yet. I think all anyone’s gotten a glimpse of so far are the grunts,” said Shun. “The Akaba guy who runs the place has other spies working for him, not just me, and one of them is a ninja-style hero called Tsukikage. He spotted one of the students leaving school and tailed him to see where he went. He managed to plant a tracking device that stayed with them as far as Skyline City. At that point, either the device was discovered, or they took refuge in something that’s blocking their signal, but either way...” 

“Either way, they might just have a base in Skyline City!” Yuuto tried not to shout his excitement. This was it - the first real, solid piece of information their search had led them to. 

“I’m going to try to get more information, so don’t rush off on your own just yet, all right?” said Shun. “Akaba wants this fixed almost as much as we do. He can give us some allies, once he’s sure of our information.” 

“That’s good,” said Yuuto. The knot of tension he’d been carrying around inside himself since Ruri had disappeared began to relax just a bit. They had a direction. They had a strong ally working alongside them. Things were going to be all right soon, he just knew it. “Should I still continue my investigation of those heroes?” 

“You should,” said Shun. “You never know - this lead might not pan out. Best case scenario, one or both of them might decide to join our cause. We can’t have too many allies.” 

Yuuto nodded, somewhat dubiously. He’d started this journey with Shun, and he’d assumed they would finish it together. He wasn’t sure how he felt about bringing so many outsiders into this. 

“I suppose I could try,” he said. 

“Try,” said Shun, and his eyes were serious. “I want to know that there are people near you who can protect you if there’s trouble.” 

Yuuto’s sense of concern returned. “You mean, while you’re at LDS?” 

“That, and other things,” said Shun. He was avoiding Yuuto’s gaze, now, staring off into the sky. They were deep enough in the city that it was hard to see more than one or two stars, but Shun seemed intent on them as though they were the most fascinating things he’d ever seen. “It’s just... the situation is getting complex.” 

“What do you mean?” Yuuto asked. From where he stood, the situation was no more complex than it had been when they’d set out. They’d known they were up against impossible odds. They were going to try it anyway, because they were heroes, and facing impossible odds was what heroes were for. 

“I just mean, the more I find out about what’s really going on, the bigger I realize it is,” said Shun, “and the more I realize just how far the disease has spread. I want you to be careful, all right? Don’t trust _anybody_ too much, do you understand? I mean it.” 

Yuuto frowned. “Shun, what are you saying?” 

“I need to go,” said Shun, turning abruptly away. “Someone is going to notice I’m gone. Same time tomorrow?” 

“Shun...” Before Yuuto had time to get any more words out, Shun had already taken off. With a couple of wingbeats, he had vanished into the night. Yuuto stared after him, feeling as worried as he ever had since they had started this whole adventure. Something, he decided, was very wrong with his friend. 

And that made it all the more important that he seek out new allies. If Shun was in trouble, and if it was something Shun couldn’t or wouldn’t talk to him about, that meant he was going to have to try to find more help somewhere. 

He was going to start with the You Show Hero Agency. 

* * *

One of the few things Yuuri disliked about the military life was that afternoon tea was not a large part of its culture. There was much about it that he enjoyed, yes - the challenge, the stimulation, and of course, the rigid ranking system that placed him at the top of the heap. On the other hand, it did lack a certain sophistication. There were times when he thought it might be nice to retire from active service for a while and enjoy the many amusements available there, but he never quite got around to it. There was just too much to do here in the Uprising. 

At least his lofty rank meant that he never really had any difficulty getting what he wanted. That included tea. The day someone like him couldn’t lay their hands on a few tea leaves would be the day he turned in his uniform and went to labor with the powerless. 

_And that won’t be happening any time soon._

So he sat in his arboretum and peacefully sipped his tea. This was his own personal blend, one he shared with no one else. Not, of course, that he was very big on sharing in any case. It was simply that he was the only person he knew who was completely immune to all plant-based poisons, which meant that he could spike his tea with digitalis or aconite without worrying about the consequences. Anyone who tried raiding his stash, however, would never want to do it a second time, assuming they survived to want anything at all. 

But there was one person with whom he did, just occasionally, share things. Plans, for instance. Just now, he was expecting that person, and so he was pleased when he saw the door open and Dennis MacField come sauntering in. 

“You certainly took your time,” he observed. 

“I’ve been gathering information,” said Dennis. He slid into the chair across from Yuuri and eyed the teapot warily. “Is that safe to drink?” 

“Depends who’s drinking it.” 

“I’ll pass, then,” said Dennis. “Really, I wish you wouldn’t do that.” 

“It keeps people from touching my things. I don’t like when people touch my things.” Yuuri took a sip of his drink. This was a concoction that no powerless human would savor or even survive, but it tasted fine to him. “So, what’s the news from the other side? Any interesting developments?” 

“Well...” Dennis made a show of considering, although Yuuri was sure he had already prepared everything he wanted to say before arriving. Dennis wasn’t stupid - no one who was stupid survived long in Yuuri’s company. It was just that he was the quintessential showman, and he always had to make a production out of everything. Yuuri sipped his tea and waited. For Dennis, he was prepared to allow for a few eccentricities. 

Dennis MacField - now _there_ was a real find. The upper echelons hadn’t had any idea how best to utilize his particular skills when he’d first sauntered onto the scene. _They_ had wanted to use his extraordinary talents for mere grunt fighting and the occasional spying expedition. Yuuri, on the other hand, had a broader vision in mind. He had known early in his career what he wanted out of the Uprising. He had risen to prominence early - he’d been one of the Professor’s first recruits, and one of the first people he had taken into his confidence. Yuuri was one of the few people in this establishment who understood something of what all this was _really_ about. A world where everyone had their rightful place? Please. That was only so much high-flown nonsense, meant to keep the rank-and-file in line. Yuuri had taken an embarrassingly long time to see through it, himself. In the end, though, he’d managed to penetrate the cloud and understand what real possibilities lay here. He’d begun making his plans, but he hadn’t had any way to implement them until Dennis walked onto the scene. 

In Dennis, he’d found his ideal partner. Dennis had been frustrated at being treated as a mere physical fighter, and had been gratifyingly grateful when he’d seen that Yuuri had realized his full potential. He was intelligent, resourceful, daring, and had very few scruples. He was a natural-born stage stealer, and as long as Yuuri was arranging opportunities to steal the spotlight, he didn’t care very much about anything else. Best of all, he had no ambition other than to perform. He was perfectly happy to take orders from someone else (someone like Yuuri, for example) without any desire to start seizing power for himself. That combination of traits made him more than worth his weight in gold. 

_A perfect partner. It’s like Fate_ wants _me to go through with my plans._

“Those three from LDS are settling in,” Dennis began. 

Yuuri raised an eyebrow. “Do you think they’re really going to join us?” 

Dennis waggled a hand. “Maybe yes, maybe no. If it had been just the two boys, I could see one or both of them coming over to our side. The girl strikes me as stubborn, though, and I suspect they’ll take their cues from her.” 

“See if you can separate them, then,” said Yuuri. “Maybe we’ll be lucky.” 

“Already on it,” said Dennis. “I made sure all of them are in different squads and have their barracks at different parts of the compound. They’re not _completely_ isolated from each other - they’d get suspicious if they were - but they spend more time with their comrades than with each other, so maybe something will rub off.” 

“Let us sincerely hope,” said Yuuri. “Now, what did you _really_ come to talk about?” 

A slow grin spread across Dennis’s face. “I have something I think you might like.” 

Yuuri waved a hand in a “get on with it” gesture. 

“I have heard from our spy,” said Dennis, “that the hero you sent him to watch got into a scrap with another hero.” 

“So?” said Yuuri. 

“So, the other party in question is the son of the Maiami City mayor, one Sawatari Shingo by name,” said Dennis. “He’s vain, spoiled, self-centered - spent his whole life being indulged in every way imaginable. From what I’ve gathered, he’s come onto the scene convinced that he was about to become his city’s new foremost hero, and instead, he’s being upstaged by someone with a famous name. Now the two of them have had a fight and Sawatari came off the worst, and he’s working very hard at spinning it as though our target was in the wrong.” 

“Ah?” said Yuuri, beginning to see a glimmer of what Dennis was getting at. 

“Painting him as a villain, in fact.” 

“Ahh,” said Yuuri again, and smiled. In fact, he had to work hard not to giggle. Of all the lucky breaks Fate could have handed him, this was the last one he would have expected, but oh, the fun he could have with it... 

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” said Dennis. 

“I imagine I am,” said Yuuri. “In fact, for a chance like this, I might decide to go to Maiami City myself.” 

He saw Dennis’s face fall slightly, although actor that he was, he did a good job of hiding it. “Right now?” 

“No, not right now,” said Yuuri magnanimously. “I’d need a little time to prepare. You go on ahead and set the stage for me.” 

Dennis grinned. “Any specific way you’d like me to do it?” 

“I’ll leave it up to you,” said Yuuri, with a wave of his hand. “Use your best judgment. Have some fun with it. Just don’t get carried away, all right? I want to be there to see the final curtain go down.” 

“Of course,” said Dennis. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.” He glanced at his watch. “Still a bit early, bye Maiami City time. I don’t think we should kick this off with a matinee, so I’ll use my time to make sure I know where all my supporting cast is. Do you think eight-thirty would be too early to start the show?” 

“That should be just about right,” said Yuuri. “I’ll make certain to get a front-row seat.” 

Dennis smiled and took a bow. “I shall endeavor to put on a show-stopping performance, then.” 

And since he couldn’t top an exit line like that, he left again, looking throughly pleased with himself. And why not? Dennis was never happier than when he had a show to put on, with himself in the starring role. 

_Although this time, I intend to get into the act myself._ In his own way, Yuuri considered himself every bit the actor that Dennis was. After all, no one other than Dennis had caught on to even an inkling of his real motives. As far as anyone here knew, he was just another soldier, loyal to the Professor and the ideals he espoused. None of them had any idea. 

But if this worked out, then very soon, everyone was going to learn.


	11. A Special Customer

The army life was coming as less of a shock than Masumi had expected. 

The fact of the matter was that other than a few small details, living with the Uprising wasn’t much different from living at LDS. She slept in a dormitory - perhaps not as nice as the one she’d had back at school, but still comfortable enough, and her fellow soldiers were surprisingly convivial. She ate in a cafeteria, and here the food was actually better than what she’d been getting back home. There were classes... well, training... every day, but her new lessons were a lot more fun than her old ones. At LDS, they were still at least marginally concerned with the everyday minutiae of the usual school curriculum. The Uprising wanted soldiers, so it invested all its energy into building soldiers. Every lesson was about hand to hand combat, espionage, self-defense, and so on. As a well-rounded curriculum, it was somewhat lacking. On the other hand, Masumi had gone into the hero business, at least in part, because she enjoyed combat situations, and being able to do away with all the dull bits of training and focus on the bits she enjoyed was extremely satisfying. 

In other words, against all her expectations, Masumi was having fun. 

Someone tried to tackle her, and Masumi produced a shield and slammed them aside. Obstacle removed, she beckoned for her teammates to push through the newly-opened gap. 

“Great job, Masumi!” one of them said as they hurried by, and gave her a high-five. 

Masumi grinned in spite of herself. When she had imagined what this stay among the enemy would be like, she had prepared herself for danger, for deprivations, for fear and loneliness. She hadn’t been prepared to have a good time, but that was exactly what was happening. She was enjoying her lessons. She got along well with her new peers. Here, at last, were people who didn’t see her as too high and mighty to actually be friends with. They treated her like one of them, because she was. In a way, the Professor had been right. When everyone around you was your equal, things did get easier. 

“Come on, guys!” she shouted to her teammates. “Keep pressing forwards! We can win this!” 

Under her expert leadership, the team was making steady headway against their opponents. At last, they reached the top of the structure they’d been trying to scale. A few other teams were keeping pace with them, but Masumi created a new shield and used it to force them aside, carving a path for their high-speed striker. 

“Go, go!” she shouted. 

Her teammate nodded and took off at a blur. Projectiles rained down on all sides, but Masumi deflected them all, until her teammate finally reached the goal: a machine with a large level, its red handle gleaming under a spotlight. He grabbed the level and pulled, causing a siren to go off. 

“That’s it!” shouted a voice over the loudspeaker. “Game over! We have a winning team!” 

The other players groaned in disappointment. There was a certain amount of grumbling as everyone started back to the classroom to go over their results, but overall, the mood was still cheerful. Everyone here wanted to shine and attract the attention of the higher-ups, but there was still a general sense that they were all in it together. A victory for any one of them was a victory for the Uprising. 

“Hey, you were really something out there, Masumi!” said one of her teammates, a girl named Kyoko. “You’re going to be a captain in no time, maybe even a general!” 

Masumi mustered a quick smile. It came more easily than she would have expected. 

“I’m not in too much of a hurry,” she said. “I know I still have a lot to learn, and I’m having fun with all of you guys.” 

Kyoko looked flattered, so it must have been the right thing to say. 

“Hey, some of us are going to the stadium for practice after dinner,” she said. “Maybe you could come join us for a while? Not that you really need the practice, but...” 

“I might drop in for a while,” said Masumi. It did sound like fun, but then again, she also had an ulterior motive. 

Since she had joined the Uprising, she had seen very little of Hokuto and Yaiba. She was fairly certain that someone at the top of the food chain had arranged this to be the case, so the three of them couldn’t easily conspire together. Naturally, the Professor and his chums wanted Masumi to feel that she was alone among the movement’s genuine adherents, so that she would feel isolated and pressured to conform. By the same token, she had noticed several of the students who had gone missing from LDS. All of them seemed to be happy and surrounded by new friends, which was something of a relief, but she always saw them at a distance, never close up. The compartmentalized world of the Uprising meant that you didn’t get a lot of chances to socialize outside your own squadron. 

But there were still chances, if you knew when to look for them, and Masumi hadn’t gone through all those years of training for nothing. There were times during the day when everyone was gathered all in a jumble, and when, if she was lucky, she could grab a few quick words with her old friends. The first was during morning assembly. That was the best time, as long as whatever she wanted to say was something that could be said in public. The next best time was at lunch. All probationers were expected to sit with their training groups, but when it came to standing in line to get food, everyone mixed together in whatever order they arrived at the dining hall. At first, Masumi had thought that was all there was, but after some thought, she had come to see that there was a third option, one so risky that as yet, she hadn’t attempted it. However, after a few days of not saying any more to her friends than, “Are you all right?” she was ready to take the risk. 

She started as soon as she had showered and returned to the classroom, where the students could go over the results of the practice battle. Masumi maintained her guise as the good and attentive student, keeping her eyes riveted on the teacher when she wasn’t taking notes, and she took a good many notes. She doubted even the keenest of observers would have noticed that mixed in with her notes were a couple of completely non-lesson-related remarks. When the lesson was finally over, she gathered up all her notes and stuffed them in her bag. As she did so, she “accidentally” let one slip through her fingers and onto the floor. With a noise of frustration, she picked up the sheet, folded it roughly, and shoved it into her pocket without glancing at it, as though it were of no importance. 

With her hand still in her pocket, she carefully tore it along the fold. It wasn’t easy to do one-handed, but she managed, more or less. In the press of the crowd, she doubted anyone could have even seen she was fumbling with something in her pocket, let alone guessed what she was doing. 

When she reached the cafeteria, she scanned the area, trying to spot Hokuto or Yaiba. It wasn’t easy to find them, not when everyone in the room was wearing some sort of uniform, but eventually she spotted Hokuto’s lanky form near the drink dispenser and edged her way toward him. Anyone watching would probably have assumed she was trying to get to the salad station nearby, and indeed, that was where she ended up, but on the way she managed to brush against Hokuto and slip one of the bits of paper in his pocket. She did the same with Yaiba near the dessert station. She did it so carefully that she doubted either of them even noticed she was there. They certainly didn’t look up from what they were doing. She could only hope that they would think to check their pockets before the day was over, but they probably would. Hokuto, at least, was in the habit of keeping his Tarot cards in that pocket, she knew, and it would be a strange day when he didn’t consult them at least once. Satisfied that she’d done what she could, Masumi turned her attention to her lunch. 

The rest of the day passed as it usually did. Masumi focused on keeping her head down and attending to her lessons until the end of the class period. She ate dinner with the rest of her squad, but she thought she saw both her old friends catch her eye briefly across the room before turning back to their meals. So far, so good. 

After dinner, she went to the training grounds with her classmates and spent an hour or so practicing with them. Once she felt she had put in a reasonable appearance, she announced that she would be returning to her room to shower. Her classmates said they would stay a while longer, as she’d hoped they would, so she waved goodbye and left the training room. 

But not to go back to her dorm. Instead, she darted off the path and into a clump of shrubbery. 

Hokuto and Yaiba were there waiting for her. 

“Good,” she said. “You both got my messages.” 

“Yeah,” said Yaiba. “That was pretty smart thinking. So, what’s up?” 

“I just wanted a chance to talk to you both without anyone watching or listening,” she replied. “How are you both doing? Any problems? Have you learned anything?” 

“Not much,” Yaiba admitted. “They keep me busy morning, noon and night.” 

“Probably on purpose,” Hokuto muttered. He was, Masumi thought, looking downcast. 

“Yeah,” said Yaiba. “But as far as how I’m doing... pretty good. I mean, nobody’s been giving me a hard time. I get along well with everybody. The classes are fun. I hate to admit it, but I’m actually kind of enjoying myself.” 

Masumi nodded. She bit her lip thoughtfully. This was what she’d been afraid of: that her friends would be having just as much fun as she was, and would be fitting in just as well. A strange thing to wish on her friends, that they should be lonely and miserable, but this was supposed to be a spy mission. They weren’t supposed to fit in here. These people - these nice, friendly, welcoming people - were supposed to be their enemies. If they let themselves get too comfortable, make too many friends here, maybe start thinking that the Professor had a point after all... 

_This is harder than I thought it would be._ They had told Masumi in school that villains would often seem sympathetic, even likeable, but she’d never quite made herself believe it. Somehow she’d always been sure that she would see right through whatever story they tried to sell her. She hadn’t reckoned on a situation like this, where she’d spend her days surrounded by people who weren’t lying to her or trying to play on her sympathies, but were genuine believers in their cause and who seemed to be basically nice people. It made it hard to remember just what she was trying to accomplish here, or why she was even trying to do it in the first place. 

“Well, I don’t like it,” said Hokuto firmly. 

Masumi gave him a look of keen interest. “Why not?” 

“Because it doesn’t feel right,” said Hokuto. “I get a weird vibe from this place. There’s something going on just under the surface, something I don’t think most of the people here even know about. Besides, that Professor guy gives me the creeps. He’s lying about something, I can feel it.” 

“We knew that already, though,” said Masumi. 

“There’s something else, though,” said Hokuto. “I’m basically the only real foreteller here.” 

That surprised Masumi. Foresight wasn’t the most common of hero gifts, but there were still plenty of people who had it. There had been a whole class full of them, back at LDS, even if none of them were as good as Hokuto. In a compound this large, there should have been at least _some_ clairvoyants. 

“Why not?” she asked. “They’ve been recruiting, haven’t they? They must have tried to recruit a few psychics.” 

“Well, there are some of those,” said Hokuto, looking uneasy. “Some of them are the kind who can see things happening right now, in the present, but they can’t see the future. The rest are either really short-range or they have a really limited scope. There aren’t even very many of those.” 

Masumi’s brow creased. The way he was saying it made it sound as though there was something important about this, but whatever it was, she wasn’t quite grasping it. 

“What does that mean, exactly?” she asked. 

“It means that nobody around here knows what’s coming,” said Hokuto. “And maybe that’s just a coincidence. Maybe they just haven’t had good luck with recruiting clairvoyants, or maybe they’re just focusing on collecting fighters more than on support. But it _could_ mean that this whole operation is so ill-fated that no one with functioning foresight is willing to deal with it. Or...” He paused, weighing the idea. “Or it could be that there’s something here they don’t want anyone to find out, and they’re afraid of having any psychics here who are good enough to work out what it is.” 

“So what’s the deal?” Yaiba asked. “I mean, we kinda knew they were up to something already.” 

“No, no, no!” said Hokuto, losing patience. “You aren’t getting it. I just told you that as far as I can tell, I’m the only foreteller here who’s good enough to see any distance in the future. You see?” 

Masumi did see. She felt suddenly cold as she realized what Hokuto was trying to tell them. If he was right and there _was_ some secret here so profound that they couldn’t risk letting anyone with the skills to find out about it get too close, then it meant Hokuto was in danger. They would not permit him to stay here once they fully understood what he could do. 

“Are you all right?” she blurted. “I mean, does anyone know? Do you think they suspect?” 

“I’m not sure,” he said. “I’ve been downplaying what I can do, playing it like I’m just the kind of fortune teller who tells you your lucky number and all that junk.” He made a face, and Masumi felt a quick stab of sympathy. She knew he hated doing that sort of thing. “I’m trying to focus mostly on my archery and hoping everyone will just pay attention to that, but I don’t know how well that’s going to work. That Professor seemed to know a lot about us, and it’s not like it would be hard to find out more about who we are and what we can do.” His facade of calm cracked. “I don’t know if I can do this. I’m not cut out for this. I’m supposed to be support, not field. I don’t have the training. This isn’t what I’m good at. I want to go home!” 

Masumi reached out and laid her hand on his. Was it possible, she wondered, that she’d never actually touched him like this before? They had been friends for going on three years now, and she couldn’t remember ever touching his hand. 

“We’ll get you home,” she said. “We’ll all go home.” 

“I know,” he said. “They’ll probably send us on a mission soon.” 

“No,” said Masumi. “We can’t afford to wait that long, not if you’re in danger.” 

“Then what are we going to do?” Yaiba asked. 

“We’re going to try to get our hands on one of those devices they use to jump between dimensions,” said Masumi. 

Yaiba looked interested. “You mean we’re going to steal something? Sweet!” 

“We’re going to steal something,” she agreed. “We’ll get as much information as we can, and then we’ll get out.” 

Hokuto stared at her. “You’d do that for me?” 

“Of course,” she said, smiling. “We’re a team, right?” 

He nodded. Yaiba grinned. 

“Anyone in particular you have in mind to burgle?” he asked. 

“Well,” she said, “I’ve been thinking about that...” 

* * *

Yuuya sat at the break room table, feeling glum. He knew he ought to be in the gym working out, or else out patrolling the streets, but it was hard to work up any enthusiasm for the job. 

_I bet my dad never had to deal with this._

He’d been on the job for not even six months, and already people were suspecting him of being a villain. And why? Because some blowhard had picked a fight with him in back of a supermarket. If there was any justice in the world, it would be that Sawatari person everyone suspected of villainy - he’d started it, after all. But Sawatari’s father was the mayor, and he had pull with the police and the media, and they weren’t going to call Mayor Sawatari’s son a villain if there was another candidate close at hand. 

_It isn’t fair._

But what could he do about it? As tempting as it was to go on TV and rant about the injustice of it all, he had kept his peace, if only because Nico had wisely put a muzzle on him and done all the talking himself. Nico knew the right things to say in these sorts of situations, and he had, if not defused the situation, then at least cooled it down a little. The man had been working here only a few weeks, and already Yuuya wanted to give him a raise. 

“The best thing for you to do,” said Nico, “is to plough straight through it. Keep on doing what you’re doing. Be a hero. Let people _see_ you being a hero. Once they have sufficient evidence to see that you aren’t actually a villain, people will forget all about this. It will be just one of those entertaining little misunderstandings that happen in this business. Trust me, it will blow over.” 

Well, that was fine and dandy, but what was Yuuya supposed to do in the meantime? He was trying to run an agency here, and that wasn’t going to be easy to do when people were afraid to come in on the off chance that he might just be a villain after all. 

_Maybe I should just go out and patrol. At least that would give me a chance to run into some bad guys. It’s not like Nico can’t deal with anything that happens here._

On the other hand, going outside meant subjecting himself to suspicious stares and furtive whispers. The idea that he might actually be a villain was ludicrous, of course, but that didn’t stop people from talking about it. Maybe they didn’t actually _believe_ it, but the idea that the great Sakaki Yuushou’s son had turned to the dark side was too good a tale to pass up. Yuuya had already read some of the gossip on the internet, before Yuzu had taken his phone away from him and sent him down to the gym to work off his frustration. People were saying that the shock of losing his father had made him go strange in the head, and that it was no wonder he had turned villain. Even worse, people were starting to whisper about his father, saying that perhaps he hadn’t been so sterling after all, that he’d been secretly a villain all along, and that he’d disappeared himself on purpose because the other heroes were beginning to catch on. Yuuya felt that it was very forbearing of him not to hunt those people down and slap them around a bit, until they learned the error of their ways. Sadly, he didn’t think smacking them would do anything but confirm their suspicions. 

So here he was, sitting in the break room staring at the bowl of fruit and granola bars that always sat there, but without the desire to actually eat any of them. It was possible he might have sat there all day if Sora hadn’t peeked in through the door. 

“Hi,” he said. “Any cookies left?” 

Yuuya glumly waved towards the cabinet that had by this point turned into Sora’s personal snack stash. It really was amazing to Yuuya how one rather small boy could eat so much sugar, apparently without any ill effects. Some people really got all the luck. 

“If there’s anything left, it’s in there,” he said. 

Sora didn’t move. He peered at Yuuya with something like concern. 

“You okay?” he asked. “You’re not still feeling down just because that guy on TV was bad-mouthing you, are you?” 

“No,” said Yuuya, and then, because he was essentially an honest person, “I guess I am.” 

“You shouldn’t listen to those people,” said Sora, trotting towards the cabinet. “They’re all stupid. You’ve got better things to do than listen to stupid people.” 

Yuuya looked up, intrigued. There had been genuine passion in Sora’s tone. It occurred to Yuuya that for all they’d been working together, he really didn’t know much about his temporary sidekick. 

“You sound really mad about it,” he said. 

“I _hate_ bullies,” said Sora. 

_He definitely means that,_ Yuuya thought. He wondered if Sora had been bullied as a child. It often did happen to supers whose powers were unusual, or which didn’t manifest in a way that was easy to understand. He wasn’t sure how an affinity to sugar would lead to that, but he’d been teased enough himself to appreciate that it could happen. 

“Was that why you decided to become a hero?” he asked. 

Sora’s reaction surprised him. The boy went very still, as rigid as though someone had flipped a switch and turned him off, his hand still six inches from the box of cookies in front of him. His expression was that of a man who’d just been struck by lightning... or, perhaps, the look of a man who was having a revolutionary new idea and was having trouble taking it in. 

“Huh,” he said at last, coming out of whatever fugue he’d been in. “I hadn’t thought of it that way. That’s interesting.” Then, before Yuuya could press for details, he added, “Oh, yeah, Nico wants you.” 

“Oh, boy,” Yuuya muttered. 

“No, it’s okay. It’s just that we’re getting a customer and he wants you to be ready to talk to him,” said Sora. He fetched down the cookies and started eating them straight out of the box. 

“A customer? For real?” Yuuya felt hope and wariness in equal measures. If this was a real customer calling for help, then it meant that people hadn’t entirely lost faith in him. On the other hand, there was just as good a chance, maybe better, that this was someone who had heard about him on TV and simply wanted to see him for themselves, or worse, confront him. It was hard to know what people would do sometimes. 

Sora nodded, crunching busily. “Yep. Called on the phone. Gonna be here in a few.” 

“Guess I’d better clean up, then,” said Yuuya. He was still wearing his gym clothes, and he knew he was sweaty and disheveled. If there was going to be a customer, he felt he ought to look presentable. 

That was how, fifteen minutes later, he was sitting in the consultation room looking moderately clean and dressed in full costume and mask. He expected that when - or if - the promised customer appeared, Nico would greet them at the door and send them in. All he needed to do was sit here and wait for them. To pass the time, he produced five colored balls and began juggling them. 

“You’re good at that.” 

“Hwah!” Yuuya yelped, dropping balls and scattering them everywhere. They rolled across the floor a few feet before popping out of existence like so many soap bubbles. 

“Or perhaps not,” the unfamiliar voice said. 

Yuuya looked around and saw no one, but there was definitely a presence there. He frowned, staring at a patch of shadow behind one of the chairs that seemed darker than usual. As if in response to his inquisitive look, the shadows clustered together even more closely, becoming as thick and dark as a pile of black wool. Then it clumped itself together to form the outline of a human body, and suddenly there was a young man standing in the room who hadn’t been there before. 

Someone without Yuuya’s training might have been a little more surprised, but Yuuya had gone to school with a lot of different kinds of supers, and knew some of the techniques. 

“I see,” he said. “You’re a shadow-jumper.” 

“And you’re quick on the uptake,” said the stranger. He was about Yuuya’s age, and roughly his own height and build, but his hair was darker and somewhat spikier. He was dressed in black and gray, with a dark purple scarf tied over the lower half of his face and a pair of sturdy goggles over his eyes. He looked dangerous, but to Yuuya’s surprise, he didn’t _feel_ dangerous. At least, he felt like while he _could_ probably do a lot of damage if he felt like it, he didn’t feel like doing any right this minute. Yuuya thought he had pretty good instincts for who he could trust and who he couldn’t, and just now his instincts were telling him that this man was friend, not foe. 

“Are you the customer they told me was coming?” Yuuya asked. 

“I suppose so,” said the stranger. “I’m looking for The Entertainer. I assume that’s you?” 

Yuuya nodded. “That’s me. Would you like to sit down?” 

“I suppose I would,” said the stranger. He dropped into a chair. To Yuuya’s eye, his movements suggested he was tired. This really was a man who had come looking for help. There was something defeated about the slope of his shoulders and the way he clasped his hands in his lap that suggested he had been wrestling too long with a problem that was too big for him, and was perhaps on the verge of giving up. 

“Are you hungry?” Yuuya found himself asking. “I could call Nico and tell him to bring snacks.” 

“No, I... well, yes, I could do with something to eat,” said the customer. He raked a hand through his hair. “It just seems so... there’s always something else that needs doing, lately.” 

Yuuya interpreted this to mean, “Yes, please, I’m about to keel over of starvation,” and got up to walk to the door. He leaned out into the lobby and called, “Hey, Nico, do you think you could get us some sandwiches or something?” 

“Hmm?” said Nico, looking up from his work. “Oh, dear, how did he get in here without me noticing? I’ll bring something right away.” 

He bustled off again, looking mildly perturbed. Yuuya had to smile. 

“I’m going to have to tell him that you came in through the wall,” he said. “Otherwise he’ll feel bad about himself. He takes his job very seriously.” 

“I apologize,” said the stranger. “I didn’t mean to upset anyone. I suppose it’s just become habit by now.” He shook his head, looking disgusted with himself. _What kind of person,_ he seemed to be thinking, _have I become, that I’ve forgotten how to walk through a door like normal people?_ Yuuya’s heart went out to him. 

“What’s your name?” he asked. 

The stranger faltered. “I don’t know if I should...” 

“It doesn’t have to be your whole name,” said Yuuya quickly. “Or even your real name. I just want something I can call you.” 

“Oh. Yuuto. My name is Yuuto,” said the stranger. “And you’re Sakaki Yuuya, son of Sakaki Yuushou.” 

“Yeah, that’s right,” said Yuuya, a little embarrassed. He still felt like, no matter how much time passed, he was always going to be a little embarrassed every time someone brought up his connection to his famous father. 

“And you’re the one who fought those masked men in the park a few weeks ago?” Yuuto persisted. 

“I did that too, yeah,” Yuuya agreed. “Why? Do you know something about them?” 

“I might, yes,” said Yuuto. “Let me explain a little. My friend and I are on trail of some villains who we believe to have kidnapped his sister and possibly some others, and we think they may be the same group you and your friends fought in the park. I was hoping we could work together, or at least share some information.” 

“I’ll help however I can,” said Yuuya instantly. Here, at last, was something worthy of a true hero. Foiling a kidnapping plot would not only make him feel like he was doing serious hero work, it would also reassure everyone around him that he wasn’t secretly a villain. Even more importantly, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that these masked men had something to do with his father’s disappearance. If this mysterious visitor could cast any light at all on the subject, then Yuuya wanted to hear every word he had to say. “But I don’t know how much help I can be. I really only saw those guys once.” 

“That’s more often than I have,” said Yuuto. “Up until recently, I wasn’t completely certain that I wasn’t just chasing shadows. All we knew for sure was that Ruri was gone, and that she wouldn’t have left of her own free will. Anything you can tell me about your encounter will be something I didn’t know before. Also...” He trailed off, looking uncertain. 

“Do you want to take your mask off?” Yuuya suggested. “It might make it easier for us to communicate.” 

“You’re wearing a mask,” Yuuto pointed out. 

“Ah, well,” said Yuuya, feeling suddenly a bit silly. “I guess I just feel like it’s expected of a hero, but I’ll take it off if you want me to.” 

Yuuto studied him thoughtfully. “I suppose if we’re to work together, we should trust each other. All right. I’ll take mine off if you’ll take yours off.” 

“Fair enough,” said Yuuya. He reached up and undid the hidden clips that held his mask in place even when he was at his most acrobatic. 

Yuuto likewise began unraveling his scarf and slipping off his goggles. Yuuto watched him, interested... and, to his surprise, a little nervous. More than ever, he couldn’t help but think that there was something strangely familiar about that face. Didn’t he recognize the curve of those cheekbones, the set of the ears, the line of the jaw, the shape of the forehead...? 

“Whoa,” he said aloud. 

“No way,” said Yuuto. 

They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, trying to make sense of what they were seeing. It wasn’t quite like looking in a mirror, but it was all the worse for that because the differences between them made the whole experience that much more surreal. 

_What the hell?_ Yuuya thought, unable to tear his eyes away. _Who is this guy? What’s going on here?_

The tension was broken by a tap on the door. 

“Mr. Sakaki? I have your sandwiches,” Nico called. 

Yuuto quickly turned away and began pulling his goggles and scarf back in place. Yuuya jerked his mask back on with a sense of relief. He couldn’t deal, just yet, with discovering he had a doppelganger, but sandwiches he could deal with. He hurried to open the door. 

“Thanks, Nico,” he said, taking the tray. “No, don’t worry, I’ve got it. The conversation is getting pretty intense in here, and we’re going to want some privacy for a while.” 

Nico’s brows knit. “Is everything all right? Should I call for the others?” 

“No, no, that’s okay,” said Yuuya quickly. The last thing he needed was Yuzu and Gongenzaka in here making things even more complicated, and he had no idea at all what adding Sora to the mix would do. “But I’ll tell you what - I get the feeling this guy might need someplace safe to stay for a while. Why don’t you go see if you can fix up one of the rooms upstairs for him?” 

“Of course,” said Nico. “I’ll see to it right away.” 

He bustled off, clearly pleased to have a job to do. Yuuya closed the door and leaned on it. 

“You didn’t have to do that,” said Yuuto, his voice muffled now by the scarf. 

“Do what? Come up with an excuse to send him away?” Yuuya replied. He set the tray down on the coffee table. Nico, reliable as ever, had scrounged up a pot of coffee and a surprising number of sandwiches given the short time he’d been gone. 

“Offer me a bed,” said Yuuto. He snatched up a sandwich, pulled the scarf down again, and took a large bite out of it. Then, still chewing, he poured himself a cup of coffee and began loading it with sugar. “I didn’t mean to impose on you. Once I’ve explained what I’m doing here...” 

“No,” said Yuuya. “No way. I’m not letting you just walk away, not now. There’s no way we’re going to sort this out any time soon, and I’m not letting you leave until I have some answers. Anyway, look at you. You’re exhausted and you’re half starved. No matter what else is going on right now, you obviously need help, and that means I have a duty to help you.” 

Yuuto looked up at him, wary as a stray cat. 

“Do you actually mean that?” Yuuto asked. 

“Yes.” Even if there had been nothing else strange going on with this person, Yuuya knew he was a hero first and foremost. Sometimes that meant finding the bad guys and clobbering them. Sometimes that meant giving someone a spare bed and a sandwich. Several sandwiches, in this case, since Yuuto had already finished the first one and started on his second. 

_Poor guy. I wonder when was the last time he ate?_

“I think you’re telling the truth,” said Yuuto, and went back to engulfing sandwiches. 

Yuuya watched him, saying nothing. In truth, he needed a moment just to mull over the ramifications of what he’d been looking at. He’d missed the resemblance at first because of the little things - the outfit, the difference in hair color and style - but now that he’d seen it he couldn’t deny it. This man was, except for a few trivial details, Yuuya’s exact duplicate. It wasn’t that they were merely somewhat alike. It wasn’t just a matter of similar facial structure. They were a match in every way that mattered: same height, same build, same gait, same way of sitting, same way of moving their hands. It was as though some super with a talent for copying things had decided that there needed to be two Yuuyas and hadn’t gotten the hair right on one of them. 

“Who are you really?” Yuuya asked at last. 

“Who I said I am,” said Yuuto. He sounded defensive. “I swear, I had no idea who you were or what you looked like when I came in here.” 

“You didn’t tell me anything about who you are,” Yuuya pointed out. “All you gave me was your name.” _Which sounds a lot like mine._ That couldn’t be a coincidence, could it? No, that was too much on top of all the rest. He went on, “And you didn’t even give me your _whole_ name. Everything else was about your friend and some shady bad guys and someone called Ruri.” 

Yuuto sighed. “All right, all right. Like I said, my name is Yuuto. I was an orphan; I was found in an alley one night and delivered to Heartland Academy. The only family name I have is the one I was given: the name of the city where they found me. I have no idea where I came from or who my real parents are.” 

Yuuya tried to think this through. So, Yuuto was an orphan. Did that mean that he could, somehow, be Yuuya’s long-lost brother? Had his parents had another child they hadn’t told him about? No, he couldn’t believe that - his parents weren’t like that. His mother adopted every stray dog, cat, and turtle that wandered past her house. If he brought Yuuto home right now, he had no doubt that his mother would take him under her wing and start making him pancakes. If Yuuya had a twin, she never would have given him up; she’d have delighted in dressing her boys in matching outfits. Anyway, Yuuto looked nothing like either of Yuuya’s parents... 

That thought started Yuuya off on a new line of thought. All right, so Yuuto couldn’t be the offspring of Yuuya’s parents because he looked nothing like them, but he _did_ look just like Yuuya. That led logically to the point that _Yuuya_ looked nothing like his parents either. He’d known that already, of course. He hadn’t let it worry him before, though, because why should he? Sometimes families did have the odd throwback or genetic quirk, especially in families of supers, where children with blue skin or glow-in-the-dark hair were a possibility. Yuuya had his father’s powers, therefore, he was his father’s son, end of story. The Entertainer’s power was so unique that the odds of anyone _not_ related to him having powers just like them was infinitesimal. 

“And what are your powers, exactly?” Yuuya persisted. 

“I’m a shadow manipulator,” said Yuuto. “I can use shadows as tunnels to travel safely from place to place, or I can give them material substance and direct them against my enemies. I’m registered under the name of Phantom Knight - you can look up my full stats in the registry, if you want.” 

Yuuto nodded and made a mental note to do so. Not that he disbelieved Yuuto, especially not after seeing him walk through the wall like that, but any information was useful. 

“I’m sorry for asking all these questions,” he said aloud. “It’s just that... well, there’s obviously something going on here, and no matter how I look at it, it doesn’t add up.” 

“I don’t mind,” said Yuuto. “I’d like some answers, too.” A small smile crept over his features. “I always wondered what my family must be like. I mean, we have to be related somehow, don’t we?” 

Yuuya looked into Yuuto’s tired, hopeful face for a moment. All the arguments he’d been having gave way to one simple idea: right now, Yuuto _needed_ a family. Yuuya smiled. 

“Just call me Cousin Yuuya, then, I guess,” he said. 

Yuuto smiled back. 

“So I guess this means you’re really going to help me find Ruri?” he asked. 

“I was going to do that anyway,” said Yuuya. “I want a piece of these weird guys, too.” 

“Why? Did they do something to you that I didn’t hear about?” 

“Well, not really,” Yuuya admitted, “but I think they may have something to do with the guy who made my father disappear.” 

“You really think so?” asked Yuuto, looking interested. “I heard no one knew anything about the guy who did it.” 

Yuuya shrugged uneasily. “Well, I was there. They look the same to me. They wear the same sort of masks.” 

“I see,” said Yuuto. He thought about it. “Well, if we really are long-lost cousins or something, I suppose that makes your father part of my family, too. I’ll do whatever I can to help you find him.” 

“And I’ll help you with your missing friend,” Yuuya promised. After all, whoever this Yuuto was - whether he was some long-lost relative or whether their resemblance was some sort of freak accident, heroes rescued people, and clearly this Ruri was someone who needed rescuing, not to mention whatever was wrong with Yuuto’s friend Kurosaki. 

_And maybe together, we’ll finally find out what happened to my dad..._

Yuuto drained the last of his coffee and looked regretfully down at what had been a tray of sandwiches. Now there was nothing left but a few crumbs and stray shreds of lettuce. 

“Do you want me to call for Nico again?” Yuuya asked. 

“No, I’m fine,” said Yuuto. “What I could really use now is a hot bath and some sleep.” 

Yuuya took his cue. 

“I’ll show you upstairs,” he said. 

Yuuto tugged his mask firmly in place before following Yuuya up to the top floor, pausing only long enough to consult briefly with Nico. The manager assured him that their guest’s room was ready, and that he, Nico, would make sure that there would be food sent up for their guest when dinnertime rolled around. Yuuto lurked in the background during this conversation, trying to stay out of Nico’s direct line of sight. Yuuya thought that he was probably encouraging the shadows to keep him slightly hidden, as much as they could in the well-lit building. At last, the two of them reached the guest room. It wasn’t much - just a room with a bed, a desk, a chair, and an attached bath - but it was a room, and Yuuto was clearly glad to have it. 

“No, don’t apologize,” he said, when Yuuya expressed regret that he couldn’t offer anything better. “This is fine. Better than I expected, really.” He was already looking longingly at the bed. Yuuya smiled his understanding. 

“Well, get some rest, then,” he said. “We’ll talk more later.” 

Yuuto nodded, already yawning. By the time Yuuya had left the room, he had already curled up on the mattress and gone to sleep. 

_Rest well,_ Yuuya thought. _We’ve got a lot of work to do when you wake up._


	12. Allies

“Guys, this is going to be totally weird, so don’t freak out, okay?” 

Yuzu laughed as she reached for the butter. “Well, that’s one way to wake us up in the morning.” 

The four of them were gathered around the breakfast table: her, Yuuya, Gongenzaka, and Sora. All of them were getting their morning meals in the way they preferred, which meant that Yuuya was scarfing down pancakes, Yuzu was eating fruit and buttered toast, Gon-chan was attacking a pile of eggs and sausages, and Sora was working his way through an assortment of doughnuts. It had been Gongenzaka’s turn to do the cooking, which meant that everything was perfectly done. When it was Yuuya’s turn, Yuzu was always glad that her meal of choice didn’t require a lot of skill. 

“No, seriously,” said Yuuya. “You guys are going to want an explanation, and I haven’t actually got one, so you’re going to want to freak out.” 

“That doesn’t sound reassuring,” said Yuzu. 

Gongenzaka looked at his friend with concern. “Is something wrong?” 

“No,” said Yuuya. “No, I don’t think so. I mean, nothing that wasn’t wrong yesterday.” 

A flicker of concern flashed across his face, and Yuzu felt her heart go out to him. Poor Yuuya. All he’d ever wanted was to be a good hero, to help people and live up to his father’s reputation. He didn’t deserve the trouble he was in right now, what with masked villains appearing around the city and people thinking he might secretly be one himself. That was on top of the ever-present trouble, the one that was always somewhere in the back of his mind: the fact that his father had vanished in the first place. 

“So what is it?” asked Sora, breaking the tense silence. 

“I invited a guest to stay with us,” said Yuuya. “A hero called the Phantom Knight. He’s going to hang out here for a while and help us look for these masked dudes, and in exchange we’re going to help him find his missing friend.” 

Gongenzaka smiled. “Well, that’s nothing to worry about! The man Gongenzaka is always ready to help those in need!” 

“I know,” said Yuuya. “That’s not the freaky part.” 

“Well, what is?” asked Yuzu. She was thinking, _I don’t want any more weird things just now. Not after what’s already happened..._

Yuuya turned and looked towards the darkest corner of the kitchen. “Yuuto, you can come out now.” 

And then the shadows moved. A boy stepped into the kitchen... or had he been there the whole time? He was dressed in dark shirt and trousers, black leather boots, and a worn black duster jacket, all of which had clearly seen better days. He was also wearing a pair of goggles with tinted lenses, and a purple scarf was wrapped around his face, covering his nose and mouth. Even so, there was something oddly familiar about him... 

“Guys, this is Yuuto,” said Yuuya. 

Yuuto bowed politely. “I’ll try not to be a hindrance to you.” 

Yuzu stared at him. She still wasn’t quite sure, yet, why Yuuya had been expecting his friends to “freak out”. There was nothing about this boy that was any more peculiar than any other super. If anything, he was rather drab compared to most of them. And yet, there _was_ something about him that bothered her. Had she heard his voice before somewhere...? 

Gongenzaka beamed at the newcomer. “Nothing to worry about! We’re always glad to have more friends around the place!” 

“Yeah,” said Yuuya, “but we haven’t gotten to the weird thing yet.” 

Yuzu’s sense of foreboding deepened. “So what’s the weird thing?” 

Yuuya turned to Yuuto. “Go on, show them.” 

Looking reluctant, Yuuto began pulling off his scarf and goggles. Yuzu felt her unease deepen. 

_This just can’t be happening..._

But it was. The young man standing in front of her was, plus or minus a few details, a dead-ringer for Yuuya... and that meant he was also a match for Zarc. A creeping sense of inevitability stole over her. She didn’t fully understand yet, but she knew this much: it just wasn’t possible anymore to consider the resemblance between Zarc and Yuuya a coincidence. All of it - Zarc, Ray’s warning, and now this - it all had to be connected some way. 

“Yuuya,” said Gongenzaka, in the slow tones of someone trying to understand, “I didn’t know you had a brother...” 

“It’s news to me if I do,” said Yuuya. “We only just met yesterday. Pretty weird, isn’t it?” 

“Pretty weird,” Gongenzaka agreed. 

Yuzu opened her mouth to say something, paused, and shut it again. What was she going to say? Telling him out of the blue, “I think you two look alike because you’re both somehow linked to a villain your dad used to know,” didn’t feel right. And yet she also couldn’t forget Ray telling her that she couldn’t trust Yuuya as much as she thought she could. Maybe it was this stranger she wasn’t supposed to trust... but it was hard to believe that, either. For all his shadowy appearance, the newcomer didn’t look unfriendly or dangerous. He looked a little awkward, standing there in that bright, comfortable kitchen, wearing the sheepish expression common to people who have just been introduced to a tight-knit group and are eager to be accepted. 

“This is... kind of a lot to take in,” she managed weakly. 

“It’s strange for me too,” said Yuuto. “I just came here looking for help with my mission. I don’t know why there’s this resemblance between Yuuya and me, but I’d like to try to figure it out. First, though, there’s something else I’d like to ask.” 

He spilled out his story: how he’d been raised by the Heartland Academy, how he’d become close friends with the Kurosaki siblings, how people had begun disappearing, how Ruri had vanished without a trace or any warning, how he and Shun had come to Maiami City in search of a lead. 

“We’ve found evidence that LDS is losing students just like Heartland was,” he concluded, “and when I heard that you all fought these people who vanished into nowhere, I wondered...” 

“If they might be the same ones making people disappear,” Gongenzaka concluded. 

“Kurosaki says one of Akaba’s people got a glimpse of them one night,” said Yuuto. “The description he gave me matches what you saw that night.” 

Yuuya gave Sora an inquisitive look. “Hey, you go to LDS. Do you know anything about this?” 

Sora looked uncomfortable. “Well, maybe. I mean, I’ve heard rumors, but I didn’t think there was anything to them. I mean, the course is hard. Sometimes people drop out, you know? Or they get fed up with rules and decide they’d rather strike out on their own and become a vigilante.” He raised his eyes. “Do you really think they’re being kidnapped?” 

“I’m sure of it,” said Yuuto. 

“Then we need to stop them,” said Yuuya firmly. 

“Not just stop them,” Yuuto corrected. “We need to find out who’s behind it all and what they’re trying to achieve. We have to get to the source.” 

“Then the first thing we should do is talk to the people at LDS,” said Gongenzaka, ever direct. 

“We probably should, at some point,” said Yuuto, “but my friend Kurosaki is working on that now, so it probably isn’t our top priority. The last time I spoke to him, though, he suggested that he had a lead on something going on in Skyline City. He thinks the people responsible for all this could have a base there.” 

_Someone will ask you to go to Skyline City..._ Yuzu felt a chill creep down her neck as she remembered those words. How had Ray known it would come to this? 

_I need to talk to her again,_ she decided. 

“Do you remember that girl who came to see me the other day?” she asked. “She said she went to LDS, and that her friend there had suddenly gone missing.” 

Yuuya picked up the idea, as she’d hoped he would. 

“Then maybe you should go talk to her again,” he said. “Now that we know more about it all, I mean.” 

Yuzu nodded eagerly. “And while I’m there, I’ll try to talk to the head of LDS, too, since I’ve already got a good reason for being there.” 

“Good call,” said Yuuya. “Maybe you can take Sora with you.” 

Sora made a face. “I don’t want to talk to the principal! That’s just weird.” 

Yuuya laughed. “Okay, okay, I get that. It’s fine, Yuzu can deal with it on her own, can’t you, Yuzu?” 

“Of course,” she said. “I’ll just ask some questions - no heroics. If anything heroic happens I’ll call the rest of you right away.” 

“Then the rest of us should look for more information on what’s going on in Skyline City,” Yuuya decided. “I mean, there’s not much point in going there if it turns out your friend is wrong and the real danger is here, or back in Heartland.” 

“Caution probably is the wisest policy,” Yuuto agreed. He smiled wanly. “I’m sorry to be barging in here like this and telling you all what to do. I don’t want you to feel I’m usurping your leader.” 

_But it doesn’t feel like that,_ Yuzu thought uneasily. _It feels like there are two Yuuyas in here._

“I’ll head for LDS as soon as we’re done with breakfast,” she said. 

“And I guess the rest of us had better go on patrol,” said Yuuya. “We still have some damage control to deal with from that other thing.” 

“Other thing?” Yuuto asked. 

“Oh, did you not hear about that?” Yuuya asked. “I got into a scrap with some guy who thought I was on his turf, and now he’s telling everyone I’m a villain.” 

Yuuya looked profoundly embarrassed. “Er... was this, by any chance, someone who dressed like a walking dartboard?” 

“Wait, you met him too?” Yuuya asked. Then, “Oh. Oh, I get it now.” 

“He found Kurosaki and me when we were reconnoitering,” said Yuuto, “and I’m afraid he mistook our intentions. Unfortunately, my friend can be a bit hot-headed when he feels he’s been insulted.” 

“Great,” said Yuuya. “Well, at least we know what happened now. Maybe we can meet with him and sort everything out.” 

“Better tell Nico,” said Gongenzaka. “He’ll know the best way to spin it.” 

“Sounds like we all know what we’re doing today, then,” said Yuuya. He smiled at Yuuto. “Well, welcome to the team. Sorry everything is crazy right now.” 

Yuuto smiled back. “If everything weren’t crazy I probably wouldn’t be here, so that’s all right.” 

Privately, Yuzu thought, _I’m not so sure about that._

* * *

Sora’s take on the situation could be best summed up as, _Well, this isn’t great._

At least now he could take some comfort in knowing that he might actually have something useful to report to his superiors. In fact, he was starting to suspect they had known something like this would happen, and that this was why they had put him here in the first place. Now all he had to do was figure out how to tell them without being noticed. 

Fortunately, he’d been given patrol duty with Gongenzaka today. Sora liked Gongenzaka fairly well, as much as he generally liked anyone. It was hard to dislike a man who was so genuinely loyal and unselfish. Better for Sora’s purposes today, however, was the knowledge that while he was a powerful fighter, he wasn’t one of the world’s great deep thinkers. 

Just now, they were patrolling along Broad Street, with Gon-chan strutting along with his “Just try and start something with me” swagger he used on these occasions, while Sora bounded along a more erratic path, bouncing from tree limb to window ledge to lamp post, ostensibly keeping his eyes peeled for trouble. Amid so much movement, it wasn’t hard to trip the button that would arrange a fake call. A few seconds later, his phone began to ring. 

“Hang on, can I answer this?” he asked Gongenzaka. 

Gongenzaka agreed that he could. Sora dropped down to ground level and answered the call he’d made to himself. 

“Hello? Oh, hi... Huh? ... I dunno, maybe.” He turned and looked up at Gongenzaka. “It’s one of my friends from school. Some of them are getting together for a group training session. I don’t guess it would be okay to...?” 

He looked up with wide, pleading eyes. As he’d hoped, the soft-hearted Gongenzaka took the bait. 

“Ah, go on,” he said. “It’s not like anything much is happening just now. Just don’t be gone too long, okay?” 

Sora nodded eagerly. “Thanks, Gon-chan! I’ll be back in about an hour, don’t worry!” 

His last sight of Gongenzaka was of him smiling indulgently and waving to him. 

_He’d better look out if he ever has kids,_ Sora thought, as he scampered around a corner and out of sight. _He’s going to spoil them._

Still, at least he was free now. He tapped a different button on his handy-dandy phone, this one sending a message to his check-in person that he wanted a quick conference. A moment later, he got a message back, asking him to meet in a certain location. 

_That was fast. They really must have been waiting for me._

If that was the case, then it behooved him to prove he was as on the ball as they were. He started into a gentle trot, moving swiftly towards the destination. 

A few minutes of easy jogging brought him to his destination: a run-down laundromat in a rough part of town. He wandered in, ignoring the few customers who ignored him in turn. Most of them were playing with their phones or had their noses buried in paperbacks novels in any case. Sora scanned the group until he found the one he wanted. 

“Hi, Dad,” he said to Dennis MacField. “Sorry, they were out of Diet Cokes.” 

“Never mind that,” he said. “Someone else will have them.” 

They wandered outside. No one paid the slightest bit of attention to either of them. Dennis led the way to the back of the building, where the air was steamy and smelled of detergent. It was probably better than most alleys in this part of town in that respect. 

“So,” he said, “what is it you wanted to say that couldn’t be said over the phone?” 

“Sorry,” said Sora. “I didn’t want to risk those guys listening in, and I didn’t want to wait around for a better time.” 

“Fair enough,” said Dennis amiably. “So, what’s the big news?” 

“Lots of stuff,” said Sora. “For one thing, I think they’re on to us.” 

Dennis raised an eyebrow. “They aren’t getting suspicious of you, are they?” 

“No, I don’t think so, but they’re getting more interested. They know about what we’re doing at LDS now, and they’re starting to sniff around Skyline City, so they’re bound to find out about our work there sooner or later.” 

“They were meant to,” said Dennis. “We’ve fed them information to ensure they will. The important thing is to get them there at the right time, and we’re already working on that. What else?” 

“Well, there’s this new guy. He says he’s from Heartland, and the weird thing is, he looks just like Yuuya.” 

Dennis smiled. “Does he, now?” 

“You knew about him?” 

“Indeed,” said Dennis. “We’ve been watching him - him and Yuuya both. If they’re together, it means the time is right.” 

“Right for what?” Sora asked. 

“Right to go to Skyline City. There’s nothing more you need to worry about here. Your number one priority now is to see to it that Yuuya and Yuuto go to Skyline City as soon as possible, got it?” 

Sora nodded. “Should be easy.” 

“It will be,” Dennis assured him, “because I’m going to give you a little help. Do you know that abandoned mall on the north end of town?” 

Sora nodded. He hadn’t actually been there, but when he’d gone over maps of the city, he’d taken note of it as being potentially useful. 

“I’m going to arrange a little disturbance there in, say, forty-five minutes. Your job is to make sure your friends at the YouShow agency are there for it.” 

“All of them?” Sora asked. “That might be tricky - Yuzu’s going to visit LDS today, and she might not be back by then.” 

“She’s not important,” said Dennis. “She can go anywhere she likes. Just make sure Yuuya and Yuuto are there. It has to be both of them, clear?” 

Sora nodded. “No problem. They’re both on patrol right now - should be easy to get them to go that way.” 

“Then I leave the matter in your capable hands,” said Dennis. “And now, if you don’t mind, I need to make a few arrangements.” 

He sidled off. Sora let him go. He had about half an hour to kill, now, and he couldn’t go back to Gongenzaka yet without drawing unwanted questions. That meant he had time on his hands. He looked around, considering his next move. 

_I think there’s just enough time for ice cream,_ he decided, and set off in search of sustenance. 

It looked like things were finally going to get interesting. He was planning to be ready when they did. 

* * *

Yuzu paused outside the gates of the LDS main building and wondered if she should have phoned ahead. The head of this school must be very busy, after all, and probably not feeling too friendly towards outsiders. Well, too late now - she’d said she would do this and so she would have to do it. Anyway, Mr. Akaba was a super himself and the son of supers - his father and her father were old friends. Surely he could set aside a few minutes of his day for her. 

Thinking about that took her mind, if only momentarily, off of some of the things she would rather not think about, starting with the fact that she wasn’t being quite honest with her friends. She _would_ do her best to find out anything she could about the missing students at LDS, but that was secondary to her desire to find out more about Zarc. 

She made it through the front gates without difficulty and started across the lawn. It was the start of a school day, which meant that most of the pupils should have been safely tucked into their classrooms and the teachers should have been busy teaching them. It was probably as good a time as any to ask for an appointment. Yuzu made it halfway across the lawn before something grabbed her from behind. 

“Hey!” she yelped. 

“My apologies,” said a calm voice in her ear. “This is merely a precaution. I’m afraid you don’t seem to be carrying a school ID, and I am authorized to detain any trespassers on this property just now.” 

“I’m a registered hero,” she said. “You can check that, if you’d like.” 

“I’m afraid that isn’t good enough,” he said. “I’m going to have to bring you to the headmaster, unless you can prove that you have legitimate business here.” 

“Actually, I was hoping to speak to the headmaster anyway,” she said. “I have some questions I want to ask him.” 

“And what, precisely, are the nature of these questions?” the voice in her ear asked. 

“I wanted to ask about something that happened to his father once,” she said. “And also about the students who are disappearing here.” 

“I see,” said the voice. It seemed to consider for a moment. “In that case, I believe it would be best if I took you to him directly.” 

The grip on her arms relaxed, and an instant later Yuzu saw a young man, probably a little older than herself, dressed all in blue in a style that was clearly meant to suggest “ninja”. Somewhat to her surprise, he didn’t look particularly menacing. There was something deferential about him, even when he was apparently taking her into custody. 

“Thanks,” she said. “Anyway, my name is Hiiragi Yuzu.” 

The ninja bowed politely. “I am known as Tsukikage. If you will step this way, please, Miss Hiiragi?” 

He gestured for her to go ahead of him, towards the door. He was clearly not about to let her out of his sight, no matter how polite he was being. Well, fair enough. If she’d been in his place, she might not have trusted her, either. She walked at a measured pace toward the door, making it plain that she didn’t intend to try to escape him. With the occasional, “Go right here,” or “Go straight down this corridor,” from her guide, Yuzu made her way to an elevator. It was locked, but Tsukikage produced a key card and opened it for her. Yuzu experienced a small thrill - clearly she was being escorted to someplace people were ordinarily not permitted to go. 

Sure enough, the hallway they emerged into was anything but a utilitarian school passageway. If Yuzu hadn’t known she was on the top floor of a boarding school, she’d have thought she’d just stepped into an upstairs hallway in a grand manor house somewhere. Therefore, Yuzu was unsurprised when her new ninja friend led her into what appeared to be a genuine parlor, complete with velvet-upholstered seats and a handsome fireplace with a bowl of flowers on the mantlepiece. 

“Sit,” said Tsukikage, indicating the chairs. “I will tell the chairman you’re here. If he’s busy, I’ll have someone send refreshments along. I don’t recommend trying to leave without permission.” 

“I won’t,” Yuzu promised. After all, even if the man himself was no longer in evidence at the moment, this school had still been built by The Innovator, and he hadn’t gotten that name for his sense of style. This place was probably as full of traps as an anthill was full of ants. 

The ninja nodded and... vanished. Yuzu blinked a few times, then shrugged. She should have known someone who used a ninja theme would be good at moving undetected. With nothing else to do, she settled back to wait as patiently as she could. 

It was only a few minutes later when the door opened again, and a young woman in the subdued clothing that meant “staff” came in pushing a coffee trolley. She parked it next to Yuzu before retreating. As soon as she was gone, a young man stepped in. Yuzu sat up and studied him with interest. He didn’t bear much resemblance to the Akaba Leo she’d seen in the pictures, but she had no doubt that the man before her was the man in charge. His confidence left no room for doubt. 

“I’m guessing you’re Akaba Reiji,” she said. 

Akaba looked her over, adjusting his glasses with a slender forefinger. “And you are Hiiragi Yuzu. I recognize you from your press photos. I always meant to look you up and introduce myself, but I never seemed to find the time.” 

“I suppose you had a lot of other things to worry about,” she said. 

“You can’t even imagine,” said Reiji. “But I believe you came here for a purpose, not just to talk about old times.” He dropped gracefully into a chair, crossed his legs, and poured himself a cup of coffee. Not wanting to be ungracious, Yuzu poured herself one as well, although she really preferred tea. She mixed in cream and sugar and took a careful sip. As coffee went, it wasn’t bad. 

“I heard that you’ve had students disappearing here,” said Yuzu. 

Akaba raised an eyebrow. “Now where did you hear that, I wonder?” 

“So it’s true, then?” she pressed. 

“Broadly speaking, yes,” said Akaba. “Are you here to offer help, then? Or is there someone here you’re afraid I’m not protecting well enough?” 

“A little of both,” she admitted. “I mean, we’ll help if we can, of course. I heard about it through a girl named Mieru, who was worried about a classmate of hers who vanished. She said the official story was that he ran away, but she doesn’t believe it.” She paused before adding, “I don’t think I do either.” 

Akaba sighed. “He ran away. He was one of our top students, and therefore under constant scrutiny from his teachers and peers. He was always rather shy and not good with people, and the pressure of so much attention got to be too much for him. That is the official story.” He paused, raising his eyes to look directly at her. “The unofficial story is that yes, they have been abducted, by an organization called the Uprising.” 

Yuzu felt her breath catch. She hadn’t been expecting such a blatant confirmation. 

“You knew?” she asked. 

“Of course I knew,” he said. “I pay attention to what goes on in my school.” 

“Why doesn’t anyone else know?” Yuzu asked. 

“A few people do know,” said Akaba. “Eventually, everyone will. Right now, we are trying to prevent panic, but that isn’t going to work for much longer if we can’t contain the problem. I’m afraid that if things don’t change soon, we are going to have to make a general announcement to the world at large, warning them that the Uprising is here and that they are taking people away.” 

“Why don’t you tell everyone now?” she asked. 

“Because of risk management,” said Akaba. “At present, the Uprising is proving very slippery, thanks to their ability to dodge into other dimensions at will. I do not, however, believe that they are as yet a very large or particularly powerful force. They seem to move by singling out individual targets, striking swiftly, and then retreating. The amount of damage they can do at any given time is minimal. However, if we tell the world that an invisible and potentially uncatchable enemy is at large, they are likely to panic, which will cause even more problems, and that’s not even mentioning the possibility of copycats. The last thing we need is people thinking they can get away with kidnapping whoever they wish because the Uprising will take the blame. If at all possible, I would like to see this issue shut down before it can get any bigger.” He sat up a little straighter, going from lecture mode to something a bit more personal. “Actually, I should thank you and your teammates. You were the ones who obtained that machine.” 

Yuzu felt pleased in spite of herself. “Was it really that helpful?” 

“Yes. It gave us the breakthrough we needed,” said Akaba. He paused a moment before asking, “How much do you know about my father and his powers?” 

“He was a great inventor, wasn’t he?” Yuzu asked. 

Akaba nodded. “I’m sure you’ve known people who have a certain kind of energy around machines. There are some people who need only to set their hands to a keyboard to make the computer crash, and some people who can get a malfunctioning machine to start working again just by looking at it. My father’s power was basically that, taken to the next level. Machines seemed to _want_ to do things for him. He could build devices that would do the most amazing things, and someone else could follow his plans to the letter and get nothing but a useless chunk of metal.” 

As Yuzu listened, she tried to read the emotion in his voice. Was there admiration there? She thought so. Was there sadness, wistfulness? Or did he resent his father for vanishing, going away and leaving him with all this responsibility? That much was harder to say. Whatever it was, he was keeping it under wraps. She thought of Yuuya, and how he felt about his father. You only had to talk to him for a few seconds before you knew that the loss of his father had left a gap in his world that nothing else could fill. Yuzu couldn’t imagine how she’d feel if her own lively, good-hearted father were to vanish that way. 

“Your father invented a machine,” she said slowly. “Something that was supposed to increase his powers.” 

Akaba looked mildly impressed. “Oh, you’ve done your homework, I see. Yes, that is so. He created the machine that ultimately got my older sister killed. No, don’t try to shower me with sympathy. I was only a child at the time, and she was a good deal older than I was. I barely remember her, truthfully.” 

That was a strange thing, Yuzu thought. If what she’d gotten from Mieru was true, that might mean that she had a clearer image of Ray than Ray’s own brother did. 

“I’ve been reading about it all,” she said. “That’s part of why I wanted to come here, actually - to make sure I was getting the facts straight about what happened to your father, and to Zarc.” 

“It is possible I could fill in some gaps in your understanding,” said Akaba. “Though please understand that I don’t have the whole story, either.” 

“All the same, I’d like to hear your side of the story,” said Yuzu. 

“Very well,” said Akaba. “I suppose that’s as good a place as any to start. It all began when the YouShow agency recruited a new member called Zarc...” 

Yuzu listened as he told the story. It was essentially the same story her father had told her: the bright new recruit, the rise to glory, the fall from grace, the desperate steps to regain his former glory, his ultimate destruction. 

“Father was devastated,” Akaba concluded. “I think it was the first time one of his machines had ever done something he didn’t want it to - and the first time he couldn’t fix what it had done. I think he truly felt responsible. He just couldn’t handle the idea that something he had built had been the instrument that took his only daughter from him. He spent days locked in his workroom, barely eating or sleeping, while he worked and worked on something that would undo whatever Zarc had done.” He was silent for a moment, gazing back across the years, and Yuzu waited patiently for him to come back to the present. 

“Then one day, he left,” he concluded at last. “I don’t even think he said goodbye to my mother. He left us a note saying he had realized what it was he needed to do, and he packed up his things and left. I think Mother thought he was going off to die, but I never believed it. If that was what he had in mind, he wouldn’t have packed his toolkit. I realized early on that wherever he was going, he was going there because he thought he’d found some way of getting Ray back. It took me a few more years to be old enough to understand that he hadn’t just left for some lofty purpose like not being able to face his family if he failed, or because he was afraid of what some villain would do with his work if it fell into the wrong hands. He left because whatever he had in mind, it was something he couldn’t do in the eyes of the public.” His gaze settled on Yuzu again. “I haven’t had any proof up until now, but I fully believe that my father decided that the only way to get his daughter back was to become what the rest of society would consider a villain.” 

Yuzu thought she could identify the emotion now: it was anger. Reiji was furious at his father - hated him, even. There was a rancor in his voice that even his blank expression couldn’t compensate for. 

“You think _he’s_ behind all this?” Yuzu asked. 

“I’ve suspected for a while that he’s been doing something behind the scenes,” said Akaba. “I confess, however, that I didn’t think he was connected with the vanishing students until I saw that portal gun. It’s not something easy to explain, but I know my father’s signature style. I inherited some of his ability with machines, in fact, and I can assure you that my father’s figurative fingerprints are all over it. If he didn’t build that machine, it was someone working closely with him.” 

Yuzu frowned. “Yuuya thinks that the people who attacked us the other night were wearing the same style of mask as the man who made his father disappear back then. Do you think your father could have had anything to do with that?” 

“It’s possible,” said Akaba slowly. “I had not considered that possibility, but my father and Mr. Sakaki were close friends, back in the day. It is possible that Sakaki knew something that would disrupt Father’s plans. Or perhaps he just wanted to get him out of the way. I recall that the Entertainer was a force to be reckoned with - not just strong but intelligent, a creative thinker. He might have disrupted the whole plan if he’d been allowed to go free.” 

“The masked man kidnapped Yuya first,” said Yuzu carefully. “Do you think he might have been the real target?” 

“Not likely,” said Akaba. “He’d barely even started developing his powers back then. What reason would there be to talk to him?” 

Yuzu started to speak, but the words stuck in her throat. How could she say that she thought Yuuya, her dearest friend and companion, was somehow linked to the notorious villain who’d killed Akaba’s sister and ruined his father’s life? 

“I guess you’re right,” she said. 

“So, does that answer your questions?” Akaba asked. 

_Not by a long shot,_ she thought, but she had the sense not to say that out loud. Instead, she said, “If you know what’s going on, what are you planning on doing about it?” 

He smiled thinly. “Cutting through red tape. ‘Just knowing’ what’s going on and being able to prove it are two different things. The local bureaucracy has been dragging their feet. I had hoped to obtain an official task force, but it seems that I may have to make do with whoever I can organize.” He shrugged. “It may be for the best. A small, well-trained team is probably as useful as a large one, if not more so.” 

“If you do go, take us with you,” said Yuzu. She hadn’t known she was going to say that, but once the words were out, she knew they had been what she wanted to say. She couldn’t imagine being left out, at this point. 

Akaba raised an eyebrow. “You speak for your entire team?” 

She nodded. It would probably have been better if she’d had time to call Yuuya and Gongenzaka and ask what they thought, but really, she already knew. There was no way they wouldn’t want in. 

“Interesting,” he said. He gave her a serious up-and-down look. “You know there are rumors that your team leader may secretly be on the wrong side. They say he attacked one of my graduates recently.” 

“Well, he didn’t,” said Yuzu. “But we do know why he thinks that, and we’re working on sorting it out.” 

“I see,” said Akaba. “Well, I suppose that all things considered, you have the right to ask. The daughter of Hotblood, the son of the Entertainer, and the son of the Innovator, settling their parents’ legacy. It has a certain poetic symmetry.” He slipped off his glasses and gave them a quick polish with the tail of his scarf. Then he settled them back in place and stood up. “Very well. I will alert you when we are preparing to leave, so you can make your arrangements. Is that acceptable?” 

Yuzu nodded again. “Yes. Thank you.” 

“No need to thank me,” he said. “I can use all the reliable help I can get, at this point. I don’t want to get my students involved more than I have to, at this point, so you volunteering like this might be just the break I needed.” He started for the door, but paused to look back at her. “Was there anything else?” 

Yes, a lot, but Yuzu sensed her time was up. 

“I was hoping to talk to Mieru again,” said Yuzu. “The last time I talked to her, she gave me some interesting information, and I’d like to follow up on that if I can.” 

Reiji looked thoughtful. “Well, you could try. She is, so far as I’m aware, an accurate foreteller, but not the most consistent one. Whatever she tells you the next time you sit down with her might not have anything to do with what she told you last time.” 

“I’d still like to see her,” said Yuzu. 

“Well, she’d be in classes right now, and I’d prefer not to interrupt her,” said Reiji, “but if you like, I will arrange for her to visit your agency during her free time.” 

That wasn’t what Yuzu had wanted, but she decided it was the best she was going to get. After all, she didn’t really have the right to demand the girl be pulled from her classes just to satisfy Yuzu’s curiosity. 

“Thank you,” she said. “Please let me know when you want us to come back.” 

“I certainly will,” he replied. “Thank you for your visit, Miss Hiiragi.” 

“Thank you for hearing me out,” she replied. 

She began to follow him out the door. He left unimpeded; she was intercepted by a sudden ninja. She jumped backwards, startled. Akaba turned back and waved a dismissive hand. 

“It’s all right, Tsukikage,” he said. “I can vouch for her. I refuse to believe that any child of Hiiragi Shuuzou can’t be trusted.” 

“As you say, sir,” said Tsukikage with a bow. “Shall I show her to the exit?” 

“Yes, please,” said Akaba. 

Tsukikage turned to Yuzu. “Right this way, please, miss.” 

Up close, she noticed, the ninja’s eyes were blue. Behind his mask, his face looked friendly. She smiled at him. 

“Of course,” she said. “Thank you for escorting me.” 

The two of them began walking toward the elevator again. 

“I apologize for my behavior earlier,” said Tsukikage. 

“It’s all right,” she assured him. “I know you were just doing your job.” 

“It’s more than that,” he admitted. He seemed to be feeling talkative, now that he was assured that Yuzu wasn’t an enemy. “I’m afraid I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately.” 

“I can imagine,” said Yuzu. “It must be a lot of work keeping this school safe.” 

“It is,” said Tsukikage. “Especially now that I’m on my own.” He turned and gave her a serious look. “The Uprising took my brother from me.” 

“Oh!” she said. “I’m really sorry to hear that.” 

Tsukikage squared his shoulders and looked resolutely forward again. “I was there when it happened. I couldn’t save him. I will do whatever it takes to put an end to the Uprising and get my brother back.” 

“I understand,” she said softly. A moment ago, this man had been nothing more than hired muscle, someone who was there to serve as an intelligent door, meant to keep bad people out and let good people in. Now, suddenly, he was a person, one with feelings and a family he clearly loved. 

“I am telling you this,” he said, “because it seems that you and I will shortly be working together against a common enemy. I thought you should understand what it is I will be working towards. My first duty, of course, is to serve Akaba Reiji and his family. I will protect them, no matter what it costs me. But if there is any chance at all that I can rescue Hikage while I’m doing that...” 

Yuzu nodded. “I don’t blame you.” 

“I’m glad you understand,” said Tsukikage. He gave her a keen look. “And why are you doing all this?” 

It took Yuzu a moment to formulate a reply. Up until that point, she hadn’t given much thought to why she was doing what she was doing. She’d been doing what felt right, what seemed necessary at the time. She hadn’t really been trying to justify it all to herself. 

“Yuuya is my best friend,” she said at last. “We’ve known each other since practically the day he was born. I know how much losing his father hurt him. If it’s true what he thinks, that his father is still alive somewhere, trapped in this other dimension, maybe, where the Uprising is coming from, and if we can get him back... well, to me, it would be worth it.” 

Tsukikage nodded. “An understandable motive, and a noble one. I will be proud to offer what assistance I can.” 

They reached the front door to the building. Tsukikage held it open for her. 

“I will leave you here,” he said. “I must get back to patrolling.” 

“It was nice meeting you,” Yuzu replied. 

Tsukikage bowed. “Until we meet again.” 

Then he vanished. Yuzu blinked. Between this ninja and Yuuto, she was really going to have to start getting used to people who could just fade into the shadows that way. 

_I’ve got a lot of things I need to get used to,_ she decided. There were still so many unanswered questions, and things were only getting more complicated. Taking a deep breath, she set out to tell Yuuya that he was about to go on a mission.


	13. Truth be Told

Sawatari had thought that this was going to be a good day. 

It had started off well enough. He’d slept in a while - and why shouldn’t he? He was a pro now, and pros tended to work late nights. Villains preferred to work under cover of darkness; they didn’t start work at six in the morning, so why should he? He’d had a good breakfast, gone on patrol, and managed to nab a villain who’d been trying to rob an electronics store. That had been good; it made him feel like he was back on top of things. 

Now he was at a favorite restaurant of his with three of his school friends: Ootomo, Yamabe, and Kakimoto. He hadn’t seen them since his early graduation, and he was enjoying spending some time with them again. 

“This is great, us getting together again like this,” he said, as he picked through his french fries. “We should do this more often.” 

Kakimoto nudged him. “Well, someone’s gone off to be a big name pro. Maybe he doesn’t have time for his old friends anymore.” 

“I always have time for you guys,” said Sawatari grandly. 

Yamabe laughed. “Hey, maybe next time you should take us somewhere classier than Burger Haven.” 

“Hey, I _like_ Burger Haven!” Sawatari protested. His father had a way of wanting to show off his wealth and sophistication by hiring expensive chefs to create sophisticated dishes out of exotic ingredients. There were days when Sawatari would have killed for a grilled cheese sandwich. 

“Maybe you should look into getting a sponsorship?” Ootomo suggested. 

“I could give it a shot,” said Sawatari casually. Actually, he thought his father would pitch a fit if any son of his started taking sponsorships from a fast food franchise. A pity; he’d have liked to have a job that would give him access to free french fries. 

“If I could get a sponsorship,” said Yamabe, “I think I’d get one for a really good athletic company. I could, like, model sneakers and stuff.” 

“I’d like to get one with one of the big gaming companies,” said Ootomo. 

“Any sponsorship is a good sponsorship,” said Kakimoto. “I’ve been chatting with a rep from a company that sells bottled tea. It’s not glamorous, but it’s a start.” 

“You know,” said Sawatari, easing his way into a topic that had been on his mind for a while, “you wouldn’t need sponsorships if you came to be my sidekicks.” 

To his surprise, his friends, rather than accepting eagerly, shifted and looked guilty. 

“What?” he asked. “What’d I say?” 

“Well, the thing is,” said Kakimoto, “I won’t get the sponsorship unless I agree to be part of the team the company’s already supporting. I don’t want to miss out.” 

“I’ve already had an offer from the Bright Brigade,” Oomoto admitted. 

“I’ve been scouted by the Limitless League,” said Yamabe. “I already told them I’d join. I can’t back out.” 

Sawatari’s jaw dropped. “But I was counting on you guys!” 

“Well, you never said,” Oomoto pointed out. 

“I didn’t think I needed to!” said Sawatari. “I thought... didn’t you think I was going to ask you?” 

“You were always kind of out of our league,” Yamabe explained. “We always knew we could never get on your level. You’ve got talent and looks and connections - what do you need with us?” 

“Anyway,” said Kakimoto, “I kind of want to prove I can make it on my own. It wouldn’t be fair, letting you haul us up.” 

Oomoto said, “Besides, you’re going to be the headline hero in this city. That’s pretty much a given. I want to go somewhere I can have a share of the spotlight, and the Bright Brigade is a pretty sweet gig.” Sawatari’s face must have been a sight to see, because he reached over and patted his arm. “If it doesn’t work out, though, I’ll definitely call you.” 

The others took up their cues and agreed that if their own offers fell through, they would turn to Sawatari for help. It did not make him feel appreciably better. 

_I can’t believe I’m their second choice,_ he lamented, as he slouched his way home. All right, maybe he should have talked all this over with the three of them a long time ago, but the point was that he hadn’t realized he’d need to. He’d thought that they were his friends, that they would stick by him when he needed them. 

But if he was going to be honest with himself - something he wasn’t often forced to do - he hadn’t really been as certain as all that. He’d hoped they liked him, sure, but he’d always suspected deep down that they spent time with him because he was strong and wealthy and had connections. He couldn’t reasonably blame them for taking another way up when they found a way that worked for them. 

_I’d do it, too, if I could._

It wasn’t all joy, being his father’s son. Shingo’s father was a man who was intensely conscious of his position, and also intensely conscious of how easily he could lose it if anything at all went wrong. He would lavish money on Shingo - buy him anything he asked for, throw him elaborate parties for any reason at all, pay for exotic vacations and servants who did everything from vacuum his floors to trim his nails for him - but it was rare for the two of them to say more than a dozen words to each other on any given day. On the other hand, Shingo had never really been allowed to forget that this was basically his father’s city, and that anything Shingo did reflected back on his father. Shingo’s place in this society was to help his father keep the city safe and prosperous, yes, but it was also to keep it in his father’s hands. If some other hero was the headliner in this city, it would give Sawatari Furio less control than if the hero everyone looked to for protection and guidance was someone he controlled. Shingo wanted to be Maiami City’s hero because he wanted the attention and privilege it would give him, yes, but he also wanted it because he knew what his father would be like if he didn’t. 

_It might be nice, just once, to do something without knowing my father made it possible._

But what could he do? His father had paid for his admission to an exclusive private school, had hired tutors, had paid for his costume and all the little extras that went with it, had paid for publicity in the news, had pulled strings to get him sponsorships with companies that would be able to pay for glitzy ad campaigns and keep his face in the headlines. The only way Shingo saw that he could do anything without knowing in the back of his mind that he’d gotten it with his father’s help was to move to another city, change his name, and start over from scratch. 

_And I don’t see me doing that any time soon._

He reached home and crept towards his room, doing his best to avoid anyone who might try to talk to him. The house staff were under orders to be ceaselessly supportive and admiring towards him, and under the circumstances Sawatari didn’t think he could endure that. All he wanted was to slink his way to his room and mope a while. 

Alas, it was not to be. He had almost made it up to the second floor when he was intercepted by his father coming around a corner. 

“There you are!” he bellowed. “Where have you been?” 

“On patrol,” said Shingo. “I caught a bad guy.” 

“Fine, fine, good,” said his father, casually dismissing an hour’s worth of hard fighting and a number of bruises that weren’t going to fade any time soon. “Was there any publicity?” 

“Some,” Shingo said. 

“There should be more than some!” said his father. “I’ll see to this, don’t worry. For a hero of your caliber, the media should always be ready! There should be people following every move you make! Don’t worry about a thing - I’ll see to it that you’re getting the publicity you need.” 

_Which means he’s going to pay for people to follow me around with their cell phones,_ Sawatari thought. Yesterday, the idea might not have bothered him, but today it rankled. How satisfying would it be to know that any attention he get was probably because it had been bought for him? 

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re doing well,” his father went on, “but I really must be getting on. So many things to do...” 

And just like that, he was gone again. Shingo sighed. 

_I wonder what it would take to get his attention for more than five seconds?_

But that was the way it was. His father was always busy. He had _been_ busy for as long as Shingo had known him, and no doubt he would continue to be busy right up until the point where he keeled over from a heart attack. Considering how many lavish meals he ate, how much he drank, and most of all, how much stress he put himself under, the only real wonder was that he hadn’t popped off long ago. Still, it was depressing to know that no matter how hard Shingo worked or how much he distinguished himself, his father probably wouldn’t spend more than a few minutes thinking about it before his attention was called away by something else. If Shingo had lost the fight he’d had today and been hauled home on a stretcher, his father would have demanded the best medical care in the world for him and then hurried off to spend the rest of the day dealing with the publicity and reassuring the public that they were safe. 

_Well, at least he does help me out when I need it,_ he consoled himself. _He loves me most of anything in the world, I know it. He just has a lot of other stuff going on..._

All the same, the brief encounter hadn’t done much to raise his mood. He shuffled off to his room in a sulk to shower and change into something more comfortable. The city’s lesser heroes could look after it for a while; Shingo ached all over and he wanted to curl up in bed with a stack of comic books and not move for a while. 

But he’d barely gotten himself into fresh clothing and gotten his hair in order when a servant tapped on the door. 

“Master Shingo?” he said timidly. “There are two gentlemen here to see you.” 

“Tell ‘em to get lost,” said Shingo. Then he sat up. “Wait, they aren’t from the press, are they? Or from an agency? Or... who the heck are they, anyway?” 

“I believe one of them is Sakaki Yuuya,” said the servant. “I did not recognize the other one.” 

“Hmm,” said Sawatari. Well, why not? He was having a lousy afternoon, and having someone to take it out on would make him feel better. “All right. Tell them I’ll meet them in the small salon in five minutes.” 

“Yes, sir,” said the servant, and retreated. 

A few minutes later, Sawatari sauntered into the small salon feeling almost cheerful, and found the two young men already there waiting for him. He grinned. He had chosen this particular room, not because it was the grandest in the house, but because it was the most uncomfortable. It had been designed specifically to make people feel out of place. It was a little too narrow and a little too tall, lined with high bookshelves and an austere grandfather clock that gave the impression of being loomed over. All the furniture was gorgeous to look at but straight-backed and hard-seated. A few gilt-framed portraits of previous generations of Sawataris gazed disapprovingly down from their places on the walls. Even the lighting was artfully arranged to make visitors feel as though they were about to be interrogated. 

Certainly his guests did not look comfortable. The dark one didn’t, anyway, Shingo noted as he sauntered in. He looked as though he wished profoundly that he could be anywhere but where he was. The other one, though, the one he remembered as The Entertainer - the mark two version, the one he’d fought with behind the grocery store - looked at ease as anyone could look in one of those uncomfortable chairs. No doubt he was used to the spotlight. Shingo looked from one to the other of them, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. The one in the harlequin outfit was surely Sakaki Yuuya, but the boy in the dark clothes and the scarf and goggles also looked as though he could be Sakaki Yuuya. More than that, he looked just like the boy he’d fought with the other night, the one whose friend had the wings. Shingo frowned. He was confused, and he did not cope well with things that confused him. 

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” he demanded, deciding on a frontal attack. 

“I’m Sakaki Yuuya,” said the one in the harlequin getup. “This is my friend, Yuuto Heartland. We wanted to talk to you for a minute, if that’s all right.” 

“Well, you’re here,” said Shingo. “Talk.” 

“It’s just that there’s been a misunderstanding,” said Yuuya. “See, I know he and I look a lot alike. I think what happened is that you and he got into a tussle the other night over something, and then you saw me later and thought I was him, and you jumped to some conclusions. I thought it would be good for the three of us to talk it out together and get to the bottom of things.” 

“You think so, huh?” said Shingo. He gave the one identified as Yuuto a baleful look. “What do you think there is to talk about? Are you telling me your friend with the wings didn’t try to clobber me?” 

“No, I’m aware that he did,” said Yuuto, “and I apologize for that. Kurosaki and I have been under a lot of pressure lately, and I’m afraid he’s gotten more trigger-happy than usual. I know his actions weren’t right, but please understand that they don’t reflect in any way on Yuuya here. He and I hadn’t even met until yesterday. He had nothing to do with that fight, and I’m fairly sure he isn’t a villain.” 

“He still fought me outside the store,” said Shingo suspiciously. “Him and his little sugary friend. Where is he today, anyway?” 

“Out patrolling,” said Yuuya, “and anyway, I didn’t want to fight back then. You picked a fight with me, because you thought I was him.” He pointed at Yuuto to make his point. 

“Hmm,” said Shingo. He paced back and forth as he considered this, aware that the two of them were watching him. He appreciated that. It was nice to have an audience. He had the future of these two in his hands, and they knew it, and they were waiting on tenterhooks for what he would decide. 

“All right,” he said at last, “I believe you.” 

The tension drained out of the two of them. Yuuya began to smile. 

“That’s great!” he said. “So you’ll tell everyone I’m not a villain, then?” 

“No.” 

“No?” Yuuya repeated. “But why? You _said_...” 

“I said I believed you,” said Shingo, grinning. “I didn’t say I’d do anything about it.” 

Yuuto surged to his feet. “But that’s not fair! How can you call yourself a hero when you’re perpetuating a lie?” 

“I wouldn’t think of it like that,” said Shingo. “I just offered the world some facts and let them decide for themselves what it all meant.” 

“But you _know_ they’re saying I’m a villain now,” said Yuuya desperately. “They’re saying my _father_ might have secretly been a villain. You can’t let them do that. His reputation is all he has left... that and me...” 

“Frankly, why do I care?” Shingo asked. 

“Why do you...” Yuuya spluttered. “Because you’re a hero! You’re supposed to do the right thing!” 

“What do you know about what I’m supposed to do?” Shingo snapped back. “You don’t know anything about my life!” 

Yuuto looked pointedly around the elegantly furnished room. “You seem to be doing all right to me. You have money, security, a family... what more do you want?” 

“You have no right to tell me what I want,” Shingo spat. “There is one thing I’ve ever wanted, and that is to be the top hero in this city. I’ve worked every day to become that hero. If I _don’t_ become that hero, I stand to lose all of this. My father is counting on me to succeed. I had it all set up, exactly where I wanted it, and then _he_ comes along...” He jabbed a finger at Yuuya, “...and everyone makes a fuss over him just because his father was someone famous. Well, big whoop! My father is someone famous, too, and he’s doing a lot more for this city right now than some guy who’s been dead for ten years. I don’t see why I should make things easy for anybody. There’s only one thing in the world I’m sure is really mine, and that’s my power as a hero, and I’m not going to lose anything just because it would make trouble for you,” he finished. He leaned in closer to Yuuya, who backed away in surprise. “You didn’t do anything to get your reputation. I don’t see why you should be angry because you didn’t do anything to lose it.” 

Then he turned on his heel and swept away, listening to their squawks of outrage. That had felt good. Too bad for them, of course, but if they were real heroes, they would figure out how to deal with the matter. If they couldn’t, well, that was just too bad. 

_At least my day is finally getting better._

* * *

Masumi needed to burn off some steam. 

Tonight was going to be the big night. She and her friends had coordinated their efforts as best they could - arranged when and where to meet, worked out their strategies, assigned their personal roles - but the fact remained that they had only been able to do so much in a few minutes while hiding under a shrub. Their plan was fragmentary at best. They had no backup if this went wrong, no one they could call for help, no plan B, and precious few resources. If she had ever been in a situation more likely to end in disaster, she couldn’t think of one. 

And yet, she had no choice. She and her team were in danger here, and as leader, it was her responsibility to get her teammates to safety. 

That didn’t mean she felt good about it. To help work off some of her restless energy, she had asked and been given permission to use one of the smaller training grounds. She was exercising there now, running laps, doing pushups, fighting mock-battles with her shadow, anything to burn off some restlessness. 

_I need to be cautious not to do too much,_ she reminded herself. _I’m going to need some of this energy tonight._

Still, it was almost dinner time, and that would give her a chance to relax and recharge. Perhaps she’d even find time to get a nap before they set out. After all, she was leaving - she wasn’t going to need to do homework, after this... 

“Hey,” said a voice behind her. “Room here for one more?” 

Masumi turned around to see that another girl had come onto the training field. She vaguely recognized her as someone from one of the other units. The markings on her uniform indicated that she was one of the high-ranking soldiers, which made it surprising that she was out here using one of the student training areas. Masumi felt a paranoid suspicion that the girl had come out here to spy on her, and tried not to let it show on her face. 

“Sure, if you want to,” she said. “I was just blowing off steam anyway.” 

The girl smiled. “Me too. I’m Selena. You’re new here, aren’t you?” 

Masumi nodded “I’m Masumi. I just joined.” 

“Good,” said Selena. “We could use a few more girls around here.” 

Masumi was forced to agree. It wasn’t that there were no girls at all here, but the boys outnumbered them five or more to one. She had wondered, at times, whether this was a result of the Uprising’s recruitment strategy, or whether girls just weren’t as keen on the military life. Masumi personally felt she could do without it. 

“I’m doing my best to fit in,” said Masumi, more or less honestly. 

Selena’s smile was rueful. “It’s not easy, is it?” 

“Not really,” Masumi admitted. 

Selena shrugged out of her uniform jacket and tossed it onto a nearby bench. She began doing some limbering up exercises. 

“So, have you been on any missions yet?” she asked. “Real ones, I mean. Outside.” 

“Not yet,” said Masumi. “What are they like?” 

“I don’t know,” Selena admitted. “I’ve never been on one.” 

“Never?” Masumi repeated. “But you must be a general, at least.” 

“Technically, I am,” said Selena, making a face. “But I don’t get sent on missions. I haven’t been outside this compound since I was a little kid.” 

“Why not?” Masumi asked. It was a nosy question, she knew, but she got the impression that Selena was happy to have someone to talk to - or vent to, as the case may be. 

“The Professor won’t let me,” she said. “I’m his daughter, you see.” 

“What?” Masumi was startled into an uncharacteristic yelp. She had known, vaguely, that Akaba Leo had once had a daughter, but she’d have been well into her twenties by now, and this girl didn’t look any older than Masumi, so why...? 

“I’m adopted,” Selena explained. “Someone found me lying on the roof of an apartment building and brought me back here, and I’ve been here ever since. The Professor looked after me - not him personally, but just, you know, made sure I had everything I needed. Trainers and caretakers and all that sort of thing. He says I remind him of his other daughter who died.” 

“I see,” Masumi murmured. She wondered if that was strange or not. Was it weird for a man to want a girl around who reminded him of his dead child but could never truly be her? It wasn’t like getting a new goldfish or a hamster. 

“So the point is,” Selena went on, “he’s really protective of me. He never lets me leave the compound, never mind going on missions. He’s even got a bodyguard for me, who follows me around practically everywhere I go. I can hardly even make any friends because there’s always someone lurking around watching me, and it creeps people out.” 

“I know how that is, a little,” said Masumi. “Not the being followed around by a bodyguard part, but I know what it feels like to always have people staring at you and never letting you get close. I was at the top of my class, back at LDS, and everyone treated me like I was something special.” She offered a sympathetic smile. “It’s not as much fun as people think, is it?” 

“It’s _not_ ,” said Selena with feeling. She offered a tentative smile in return. “The really rotten part is that I _know_ I’m good enough to go out on missions like everyone else. I’ve trained harder than anyone here. I know I could really achieve something if Father would just let me go out, but he says it’s too dangerous and that I should leave it up to other people. What kind of way is that to behave? Why bother training me as a soldier if he’s never going to let me fight anyone?” 

“Maybe since everyone else here is a warrior,” said Masumi thoughtfully, “he thought it would help you feel less alone if you were training with everyone else?” 

Selena made a face. “If that’s what he was thinking, then he really didn’t think all this through very well. I mean, if I had been different to start out with, that would have been one thing. I’d have been like Dennis or Yuuri. They’re different, but everyone is used to them being different. They’re _supposed_ to be different, so nobody minds. I’m just like everyone else in most ways, so it makes the ways I _am_ different stand out more.” 

“I think I know what you mean,” said Masumi. “Everyone can see that you’re pretending to be something you aren’t.” 

“Yeah.” Selena sighed. “You get it. It’s good to finally meet someone who understands.” She smiled slightly. “Not that I know why I’m dumping all this one someone I just met.” 

“Because we just met,” said Masumi. “No preconceived notions. Everyone around here is so gung-ho about the Uprising, they wouldn’t want to listen to someone who was feeling fed up with how things are done around here.” 

Inside, she was thinking, _This girl really hasn’t had anyone to talk to in a long time._ She’d seen that sort of thing before. People needed other people to talk to, and when they didn’t have an outlet, they would willingly pour out their souls to the first sympathetic listener they met. It happened a lot to Hokuto; people would come in saying they wanted a reading, when what they really wanted was someone, _anyone_ , who would listen to their problems. He didn’t even have to give them advice most of the time, he told her. All he had to do was listen and let them know they were being heard, and they would go away happy and tell everyone what a wonderful fortune teller he was. Masumi had never imagined that she would need to use that particular bit of information in a place like this, but she wasn’t about to turn down the chance to learn something. 

“So why don’t you try going out anyway?” Masumi asked. 

Selena gave her a dubious look. “Do you really think you could get away with something like that in a place like this? I told you, Barrett watches me all the time.” 

“All the time?” Masumi asked. “Even when you’re in the shower? Or sleeping? Even during classes? When does _he_ sleep and take showers and things?” 

“Well, I guess not all the time,” Selena admitted. 

“So who watches you when he doesn’t?” 

“No one in particular,” said Selena, “but there’s still the rest of the army...” 

“You can get away from them, if you want,” said Masumi. “You know it as well as I do. In a place like this, if you walk with purpose and look like you know where you’re going and you’re in a hurry to get there, everyone will assume you know what you’re doing and won’t bother you.” 

“Maybe so,” said Selena. “I’ll think about it.” 

“Do that,” said Masumi. “Maybe if you can show the Professor how capable you are in the outside world, he’ll be less protective of you.” 

But probably not, she thought. It was just as likely that he’d lose his temper and punish her by becoming even more controlling. On the other hand, if things stayed as they were, it would probably be years before Selena got her chance to see some of the outside world, and she probably deserved that. 

“Maybe so. I don’t know if I have the nerve to try it, though.” Selena smiled. “Well, thanks for listening anyway.” She finished touching her toes and straightened up. “So, ready to spar?” 

“Ready when you are,” Masumi agreed. 

The two of them took positions on either side of the field and grinned across at each other, waiting for the signal to start. Masumi felt a slight tinge of regret. Selena seemed like a nice person, and like someone who needed a friend. If the circumstances had been different, Masumi thought she could have enjoyed spending more time with her. It would be nice to have another girl her age to talk to. Too bad Masumi didn’t intend to hang around this place any longer than she had to, which by her count was no more than a few more hours. 

_Oh, well,_ she thought. _I might as well enjoy it while it lasts._

* * *

Yuuya slouched along with his hands in his pockets, glaring down at the sidewalk as though it had personally offended him. 

“I’d like to punch that guy in the face,” he grumbled. 

“You aren’t the only one,” Yuuto muttered. “And to think I was actually sorry that Shun picked a fight with him. Now I wish I’d helped.” 

“And he has the nerve to call himself a hero,” Yuuya complained. “I don’t care what kind of problems he thinks he has, he has no right to do that!” 

“Well, what else can we do about it?” Yuuya asked, a bit helplessly. “I mean, his dad’s the mayor. If we keep fighting him, he can make our lives really hard.” 

“How hard?” Yuuto asked. 

“Well, he could get my agency shut down, or have my license revoked, or claim I assaulted him and get me put in jail, or...” 

“All right, all right, I get it,” said Yuuto, holding up his hands. He walked along thoughtfully for a while. “Is there anyone here who has the power to stand up to him?” 

“Eh?” said Yuuya, who had been lost in his own thoughts. 

“I asked, does this mayor rule the city with an iron fist, or is there someone else around here who has influence, who might take our side?” 

“I don’t know,” said Yuuya. He considered for a few paces. “The headmaster at LDS. He has a lot of pull around here. His dad invented a lot of the technology the city runs on, and I’m pretty sure he’s the one who keeps it running, not to mention the influence the school has.” 

“And we already have an in with him because of Shun,” said Yuuto. 

“And because his dad and my dad were friends,” said Yuuya, “and Yuzu was going to go talk to him today, and his dad knew her dad, too. Yeah, we might be able to get him to listen.” 

“Good,” said Yuuto. “Do you think this Sawatari went to LDS?” 

“Probably. It’s supposed to be a really top-notch school.” 

“Then maybe we can get this Akaba person to threaten to revoke his graduation papers if he doesn’t behave,” said Yuuto with a small smile. 

Yuuya laughed. “Hey, yeah, that’d probably work!” Then he sobered. “You know what really gets to me, though? This stuff about my dad.” 

“You mean, the way he was saying you’re only famous because of your father?” Yuuto asked. 

“Not really,” said Yuuya. “I mean, that bugs me, but what I really hate is that people are starting to say he used to be a villain, and he’s not around to defend himself anymore. All that’s left are memories, and those get distorted after a while. If we can’t fix this, it won’t be long before everyone believes it. I couldn’t stand it if that happened.” 

“You were really close to your father, weren’t you?” Yuuto asked sympathetically. 

Yuuya nodded. “I wish you’d been able to meet him. He was... when he smiled at you, you felt like a spotlight was shining down on you and the whole world was cheering. He could make going to the corner to buy a magazine as much fun as going to a carnival. He had the greatest laugh. If he started laughing about something, everyone on the street would turn around and smile, too, even if they didn’t know what he was laughing about. He made the world a brighter place just by being there.” 

Yuuto nodded seriously. “Someone like that could never be a villain.” 

“Exactly,” said Yuuya. “All I’ve ever wanted is to be the kind of person he’d want me to be - to be a hero who could carry on his legacy. Instead, this has to go and happen.” 

“It isn’t your fault,” said Yuuto. “If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s that Sawatari person. He started all this, and he’s the one who’s refusing to accept responsibility.” 

“Yeah, I know,” said Yuuya. “But that doesn’t make me feel a lot better.” He kicked at a stray pebble as he walked. “You know, I never believed Dad was dead. Not for a minute. Not really _believed_ , you know? Sometimes I’d try to tell myself, okay, nobody’s heard from him in years, he’s probably really gone, it’s time for you to get over this, but it would never stick. One way or another, I feel sure he’s going to come back. I want to make sure he’s got something good to come back to.” 

“I’d like to meet your father,” said Yuuto. “He sounds like a wonderful person.” 

“Yeah, he really was,” said Yuuya, smiling a little. “Hey, I should take you to meet Mom sometime soon. Even if it turns out we’re not really related, she’d probably adopt you anyway. Also, she makes great pancakes.” 

“I’ll look forward to it,” said Yuuto, smiling faintly. 

Yuuya remembered that Yuuto was an orphan, and wondered if mentioning adoption had been insensitive of him. Then again, it had been entirely true, so if Yuuto wanted to be adopted, all he really had to do was ask. 

Before he could clarify his position, his phone went off. He snatched at it, wondering what it would be this time. Yuzu calling to report on her meeting with Akaba? Nico reporting a new client? Sawatari with a change of heart? A reporter looking for an interview? 

“Hello?” he said, ready for anything. 

“Yuuya, you gotta come quick!” Sora’s voice shouted. “You won’t believe what I’m seeing here!” 

“What’s going on?” Yuuya asked. 

“Those mask guys are here!” said Sora urgently. “I think they’re gonna set off a bomb or something! You have to come quick!” 

“Calm down,” said Yuuya. “Where are you?” 

“At the abandoned shopping mall,” said Sora. “I saw them and I followed them, and...” 

“Okay, okay. Have you told the others?” 

“Not yet.” 

“Then do that. I’ll meet you at the mall,” said Yuuya. “Wait for me out where the old fountain was.” 

“Will do,” said Sora, and signed off. 

Yuuya looked at Yuuto. 

“Know anything about bombs?” he asked. 

“No,” said Yuuto. “Do you?” 

Yuuya shook his head. “Not much.” 

“Well, then,” said Yuuto, “I guess it’s time we went and found out.”


	14. With a Bang

Yuuya reached the fountain and found Sora, Gongenzaka, and Yuzu already there waiting for him. In spite of everything, Yuuya felt his spirits rise a little. He wasn’t alone in all this - he was part of a team of five, which was more than he had expected to have when he’d graduated. No matter who else might have doubts about him, his team believed in him. 

“All right,” he said, as they gathered into a huddle, “let’s hear the situation.” 

“I was coming back from a study session,” said Sora, “when I saw some of those mask guys, so I called for Gon-chan and he came running.” 

Gongenzaka nodded. “I saw one and chased after him, but he was too fast for me. I, the man Gongenzaka have failed you,” he added sorrowfully. 

Yuzu patted him on the back. “It’s not your fault. They probably had one of those dimension jumping things. There’s no way you could have followed them if they were using one of those.” 

“Anyway,” said Sora, “I did a circuit of the building to see if I could find any more of them, and I saw them carrying a box or something inside. They were handling it really carefully, so I think it must be something pretty delicate. Some kind of machine, or...” 

“Or a bomb,” said Yuuya. “If that’s what it is, we’re going to have to be really careful.” 

“Why would anyone put a bomb here?” Yuuto asked, looking up at the old mall. “It doesn’t look like anyone cares about this place. Taking it down might be considered a public service.” 

“We don’t know for sure that it _is_ a bomb, though,” said Yuzu. “It could be something that would let off poisonous gas, or some kind of bioweapon, or a hypnosis machine, or a part for one of their portal things, or... well, all sorts of things.” 

“Then the best thing we can do is find it and try to shut it down,” said Yuuya. “We’ll split up and search the building. Yuzu, Sora, you two can move fast, so you take the upper floor. Gon-chan and I will search downstairs. Yuuto, you scout around outside and see if you can spot anyone trying to get in or out. While you’re at it, call Nico and tell him what’s going on. We may need backup for this.” 

“On it,” said Yuuto, and faded from sight. 

Yuuya stared a moment, then shook himself. 

“It’s going to be a while before I get used to him doing that,” he said. “So, guys, we ready?” 

Everyone agreed that they were, and as a group, they turned and marched towards the front of the mall. 

It had probably been a nice place, once. It had sported an impressive fountain in front, full of statues of leaping dolphins that sprayed water into the air. The front had been made of white stone and blue-tinted glass, and at night blue and white lights had illuminated the front, making the water in the fountains sparkle dramatically. There had been palm trees growing in regimented rows along the front, adding to the tropical feel, and beds of flowers had added a note of color. Now the flowers were dead and gone, the palm trees had withered from lack of care, and the fountain was a stagnant pool of old rainwater in which algae and old rubbish floated. The white exterior was grubby, and the windows were coated in grime and cracked in places. The whole thing looked like it might fall down at any minute, even without the help of a bomb. Small wonder that Yuuto had thought that blowing it up might actually be an improvement. 

The front doors were locked, of course - not only locked, but covered over with plywood and held in place with a chain and padlock. A few of the locals had ornamented the plywood with a lot of graffiti, which did something to make the place look more colorful, though not any cleaner. Yuuya hung back a bit and glanced at Gongenzaka. 

“Door?” he suggested. 

Gongenzaka nodded. He considered the chains for a moment before gripping them in his huge fists and wrenching at them. They snapped with a metallic clinking. He jerked them free of the door handles and tossed them into one of the decrepit flower beds. Then he turned his attention to pulling the plywood barriers away. Getting the doors themselves to open was a bit more difficult, and he finally resorted to dealing a forceful kick that shattered the glass and brought it raining down in shards. 

“Well,” said Yuzu, “I guess everyone knows we’re here now.” 

“Sorry,” said Gongenzaka. “But at least we can get in now.” 

Yuuya conceded the point. The four of them ventured cautiously into the building. No swarms of enemies rushed at them. In fact, everything seemed ominously quiet. They all but tiptoed through the food court, past its vacant chairs and its restaurants still advertising deals that had come and gone years ago. Now the only diners there were the spiders. At the far end of the food court, the path branched off in two directions, lit now only by a dingy skylight. Two sets of escalators, now frozen in place, led to the upper floors. Yuzu and Sora each picked a staircase and started up. 

“Be careful up there,” Yuuya warned. “The floor might not be too stable.” 

His friends agreed they would be careful before scampering upwards into the shadows. Yuuya looked to the left and right, trying to decide which direction looked more likely. 

“You go that way,” he said, pointing off to the left. “I’ll take the other wing.” 

Gongenzaka gave him a thumbs-up before clanking off in the direction Yuuya indicated. Yuuya watched him go for a moment before turning and trotting resolutely the other way. 

_This place is creepy,_ he found himself thinking. It was easy to tell himself that this was just an old shopping center, with nothing particular about it that was scary unless the occasional cobweb or cockroach bothered you. Nevertheless, there was something about walking through a building that should have been full of noise and light and seeing only decay that made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. When Yuuya investigated a trash can to see if the bomb might be hidden there, a pigeon flew out and nearly gave him a heart attack. He leaned against a support pillar to catch his breath. It creaked ominously, and he jumped away again. 

_You know what? I am justified in being scared. Everything in this place is out to get me!_

He crept along at a more cautious pace, trying to peer into the darkened shops. Some of them still had mannequins inside, watching him with their blank stares. Yuuya tried to remember why this mall had been abandoned in the first place. Had it just been a victim of the online shopping craze, or had it been shut down for a more nefarious reason? Hadn’t there been some villain or other, a few years ago, who made his base of operations inside a mall? He’d had to learn about so many of them in school, they all started to blur together after a while. 

_I’m going to have to start reading up,_ he told himself. Maybe Sora would have some textbooks he could loan him. Thinking about it helped him stay calm while he continued picking his way down the echoing corridor. 

At the far end of the hallway, the path ended at a big department store. Yuuya peered cautiously through the door. It did not look welcoming, especially since there was almost no light there. Still, it had to be searched. Yuuya took a flashlight from his toolbelt and beamed it around inside. He could see the remains of old displays, clothes racks tipped onto their sides or standing forlorn with only a few empty clothes racks dangling nothing but cobwebs. A few mannequins in various stages of disrepair stood on their pedestals or lay in tangles on the floor. Yuuya had the uneasy feeling that they were staring accusingly at him, which was an unsettling sensation to get from something that didn’t have a face or even, in some cases, a head. 

He would have missed it if it hadn’t been for the indicator light. Yuuya saw something glitter out of the corner of his eye, and turned slowly until he made out something flashing in a dark corner. Warily, he crept closer for a better look. Sure enough, a boxy device had been wedged into a corner behind what had possibly once been the makeup counter. An indicator light was blinking green, though what that meant, Yuuya didn’t want to guess. He reached for his phone. 

“Found it,” he said. “I’m in the old clothing store at the far end of the east wing.” 

“On our way,” said Gongenzaka. 

“Roger that,” said Yuuto. “I’ll call Nico with an update.” 

“Be careful, Yuuya,” said Yuzu. “Don’t do anything until we get there.” 

“Yeah, don’t get yourself blown up,” Sora agreed. 

That sounded like good advice. Yuuya wished he knew how to follow it. He stared balefully down at the box and wondered if he should just launch it as high into the sky as he could and let it explode up there. Or maybe they could bury it? He tried to remember what they’d taught him about explosives back in school. 

_We really need a tech person on our team. Now I know why Dad kept Mr. Akaba around._

The shadows next to him shifted, and Yuuto stepped into view. 

“What do you think?” Yuuya asked. “Does it look like a bomb to you?” 

“I wouldn’t want to swear it wasn’t,” said Yuuto. “Sorry, I don’t know much about bombs. It certainly looks suspicious, though.” 

A moment later, Gongenzaka arrived. For someone who called himself The Immovable Man, he could put on a fair turn of speed when he wanted to. Yuzu and Sora appeared shortly after him, and all of them stood in a loose semicircle around the mysterious device. 

“Well, here it is,” said Yuuya. “What do you think we should do with it?” 

“It doesn’t have any sort of countdown timer,” said Yuzu, “but that doesn’t really mean anything.” She tinkered with her music selection, choosing a playlist that would enhance her cognitive skills, and leaned down for a better look. “I don’t see anything that looks like an off switch or a trigger, which means either it’s on some kind of timer, it’s being operated remotely, or whatever it does is passive, like some kind of transmitter or recorder. I don’t see what they’d want to transmit or record in a place like this, though.” 

“Which means it’s probably rigged to explode,” said Yuuto. “So we should shut it down if we can, and if we can’t, we clear out and wait for a bomb squad.” 

Yuuya glanced up at him. “How far is your range? Can you send it somewhere else - the bottom of the ocean, maybe?” 

Yuuto thought about it. “Possibly. Does anyone have a map?” 

Sora had a map. He pulled it up on his phone, and Yuuto consulted it briefly. 

“I think I can get it as far as the lake,” he said. 

“Good place for it,” Gongenzaka agreed. “Go for it already!” 

Yuuto looked around, making sure this was the general consensus. Yuuya nodded and made a little, “go on” gesture. Yuuto nodded back and reached out to pick up the device. 

It went off. 

* * *

Shingo was prowling through an alley. His day had definitely turned around since those two importunate would-be heroes had turned up in his home. It had felt good, telling them where to get off. 

_Who do they think they are, asking me to apologize? If they were real heroes, they could salvage their own reputations. It’s not my job to do public relations for them._

But the confrontation had done the trick. He was back in his groove now, patrolling the less savory of the city’s streets and making his presence felt. He’d already broken up a fight outside a bar and snagged a shoplifter in a convenience store, and of course, the cameras had been rolling the whole time. He would have plenty of footage to upload when he got home, and that would mean at least a few comments from his loyal fans, and probably a few new fans as well. The more fans Shingo had, the happier he was. 

He vaulted his way up to the rooftops to get a bird’s-eye view of his city and considered where to go next. It was still early in his workday, so there would be plenty of time to go wherever he pleased. This was a rough part of town, so the odds of him finding things to do here were high. On the other hand, going into the center of the city and letting himself be seen would be a good way to improve his ratings. Decisions, decisions... 

His mind was made up for him by a distant explosion. Shingo scanned the horizon until he found a rising cloud of smoke and the red glow of far-off flames. He grinned; whatever the cause of the explosion, one could bet that there would be people nearby in need of rescue, and possibly even villains in need of trouncing. Either way, the people nearby were guaranteed to be in need of a hero. Shingo began to run towards the source of the trouble. 

By the time he reached the scene of the crime, the fire was already well under way. A crowd of people were standing in the street, staring at an apartment complex in horror as smoke poured from the upstairs windows. Shingo selected one who wasn’t having hysterics and turned them around to face him. 

“Licensed hero,” he said, flashing his card. “What happened here?” 

“I’m not sure,” said the onlooker. “Some sort of villain showed up and started grandstanding, the way they do, you know, and we all thought it was no big deal. Then he took out some sort of device and pressed the trigger, and suddenly - boom!” 

“What did he look like?” Shingo asked urgently. “Did you see which way he went?” 

“I’m not sure,” the man admitted. “He was really fast, but he was wearing some sort of clown suit and a mask.” 

“I know who it was!” said someone else in the crowd. “It was the Entertainer!” 

“No, it wasn’t! The Entertainer is a hero! He’d never do anything like this!” 

“I heard the new guy was secretly one of the bad guys, though.” 

“If it’s a secret, how come you heard about it, then?” 

“I heard his old man was a villain, too. You know, behind the scenes. That’s why he ran away - he finally got busted.” 

“He wouldn’t have done a thing like that! He was a real hero!” 

“Oh, yeah? Then why’d he disappear like that? You can’t trust a guy who’s always smiling like that - they’re up to something, that’s what I say.” 

Shingo listened to the debate swirl around him with the faintest tremor of unease. This was his doing. Up until a few days ago, no one in this crowd would have dreamed of suggesting that The Entertainer had been anything other than the city’s savior. Well, he _had_ been - anyone who had learned as much of the city’s history as the mayor’s son had would know that. He had put his life on the line a thousand times for Maiami, and with a few careless words, Shingo had made people forget it all, and slander the great man’s son into the bargain. 

_I didn’t mean to do that... I just wanted people to pay attention to me..._

He was just about to work up an uncharacteristic case of guilt when one of the teenagers in the crowd piped up with, “I got a video of him on my phone! See for yourself!” 

Shingo turned to look at the little screen. The quality wasn’t good, but he could still clearly see a young man in a harlequin costume and carnival mask perched on a window ledge and laughing as he set off the explosive device. Shingo snarled. And just when he’d been starting to feel sorry for the guy! He watched the video until the end, when it tracked the villain leaping off the ledge and bounding off in the direction of a nearby bank. 

_So that’s his plan - create a distraction here to draw all the heroes, so he can go after the bank! This bastard’s sneakier than I gave him credit for. Well, I’ll show him!_

“Thanks,” he said, and began dashing towards the bank. 

“But what about the fire?” someone shouted back, but he was already gone. After all, he was a fighter. It was his job to fight bad guys, catch them, and put them away. Let one of the rescue-oriented heroes deal with house fires. He had other fish to fry... or, more accurately, skewer. 

_All right, where are you hiding..._

Everything around the bank seemed quiet. A few customers were wandering in and out, tellers were dealing with drive-through traffic, and absolutely nobody seemed to be holding the place up or drilling a hole through the back wall. Shingo paused in an alley across the street from it and considered. How much did he know about The Entertainer’s talent? Something to do with circuses... he wished he’d paid more attention in school. 

He was still mulling over his options when something grabbed him from behind and yanked him into the shadows. 

“Don’t scream,” said a cheerful voice in his ear. “If you scream, you’re dead. Make any sudden moves, you’re dead. The only reason you are still breathing right now is because you are more entertaining alive. Nod if you understand.” 

Shingo nodded, eyes wide. 

“Good,” said the voice. “Now, I am wearing a short-range signal jammer that’s temporarily shutting down your recorder, so there isn’t going to be any record of this meeting. Also, there’s no point in trying anything cute like phoning for backup, because that won’t work either. You and I are going to have a nice, private chat.” 

“I have money,” Shingo blurted. “Just tell me what you want, I’ll get it for you.” 

The voice behind him giggled. Then it began to laugh, bubbly and delighted, in a way that made Shingo’s stomach drop. 

“You think,” the voice gasped, “you actually think that I want _money_? Oh, you’re too much! I’m so glad I decided to stop and talk to you.” 

He loosened his grip on Shingo’s neck, and Shingo whirled around, prepared to either run or fight as circumstances demanded. What he saw made his jaw drop. 

“You’re him!” he blurted. Then he frowned. “But that... can’t be...” 

The gears in his head were grinding. What his eyes were telling him was that he was looking at The Entertainer. The costume was right, the mask was right, the hairstyle was right, but something else was... off. Maybe it was in the voice, or the way he was smiling. No matter how confused Shingo might have been about Yuuya’s motives, he couldn’t believe the man he had met would ever _giggle_ like that. 

“So,” said the masked man, “you think I’m him, do you? You really thought I was Sakaki Yuuya. I’m glad to know my disguise worked so well.” 

“Who are you really?” Shingo asked. 

“My name is Yuuri,” said the masked man. “I know, it’s quite the coincidence, isn’t it? I think there really must have been some sort of fate at work.” He laughed, as though that, too, were a very funny joke. If it was, Shingo couldn’t see it, but... 

_Yuuya had that guy with him, the one who looked just like him. Two people who look alike is a coincidence, but three...? How many copies of this guy are there? Why are there so many of him?_ His brain buzzed with the possibilities. 

“Why are you pretending to be Sakaki?” he asked. 

“Because it’s _fun_ ,” said Yuuri. “I don’t get to have as much fun as I’d like. This is a good way to kill some time. And anyway, I don’t want that boy to be here. I want him to go somewhere else. If he feels unwelcome here in Maiami City, he’s more likely to go where I want him to go.” 

“So you’re some sort of villain,” Shingo murmured. It was stating the obvious, but he was having a hard time sorting all these doppelgangers out in his head. 

Yuuri snickered at him. “I suppose I should say I’m a freedom fighter, but that would be silly, wouldn’t it? Yes, I’m a villain. I’ve never wanted to be anything else. You should try it - it’s much more fun, and I’m sure you’d be good at it.” 

Shingo scowled. “I’m going to be a hero!” 

“I see,” said Yuuri. “And that’s why you dragged the Sakaki name through the mud, just to get a leg up on someone you saw as competition. That was terribly noble and unselfish of you. A _real_ hero would have treated him as an ally and cooperated with him for the good of the city. If you had, it would have been so much harder for me to do this now, so thank you for helping me out.” He gave Shingo a mocking bow. “I couldn’t have done it without you!” 

“I’m not a villain!” Shingo shouted. 

“Maybe you should be,” said Yuuri. “I’m sure you’d enjoy it more. You clearly have the mind and the temperament for it.” His eyes caught the light of a neon sign, making them seem to glow oddly. “It’s the only way to live. No rules, no boundaries, no one telling you what to do, everyone watching to see what you’ll do next... there’s no other feeling like it. Try it, and you’ll see how dull and insipid the life of a hero is.” 

“I’m not listening to you!” Shingo snapped. “I’m going to capture you and take you in, and then everyone will be able to see that Sakaki is innocent!” 

“Oh really?” said Yuuri. “And how are you going to do that?” 

Before Shingo could react or even take a breath to respond, vines burst up out of the pavement and wrapped his arms and legs, leaving him tied to the spot, bound so tightly that he could barely even twitch a finger. Me made a feeble effort to throw a dart anyway, but it merely dropped from his hand and landed on the cracked pavement with a sad little tinkling noise. Yuuri howled with laughter. 

“Are you going to kill me?” Shingo gasped. The vines were coiled around his chest, making it hard to draw breath. 

“Kill you? Of course not,” said Yuuri. “What fun would that be? Anyway, you aren’t important enough to kill. It isn’t as though someone like _you_ can stop me. I’d rather leave you alive. You see, a performance isn’t any fun if I don’t have an audience. I want someone to _know_ what I’m doing, and you’re the perfect man for the job.” 

“Why me?” Shingo asked. 

“Because,” said Yuuri, “you’re the one who started the rumor that The Entertainer was a villain. You made all this possible. If you hadn’t been so vocal in planting the idea in everyone’s heads, no one would believe now that the son of their legendary hero is capable of being a villain. But you made them believe it! Now, every time I destroy something, every time I capture a new slave, every time I ruin someone’s life, you’ll know that you made it possible. When Sakaki Yuuya is run out of this city for good, you’ll know it’s all because of a lie you told.” He smiled, a brilliant smile of perfect happiness. “And you’ll be the only one who knows the truth. And best of all...” He leaned in close, holding a paper bag of something close to Shingo’s face. “The best part is that even if you tell someone the truth, _no one will ever believe you._ ” 

Then he tore the bag, causing the thin paper to release a cloud of yellow pollen. Shingo coughed and gasped. Through his suddenly watering eyes, he just barely saw Yuuri bounding away into the night. He tried to call out, but it came out as a barely audible croak. He went into a coughing fit, eyes streaming and nose running. His head was beginning to spin, enough to make him wonder if there was more to this reaction than simple allergies. 

_Man, I really screwed up,_ he thought, and then he blacked out. 

* * *

The man known as the Professor was walking thoughtfully through the compound, with the air of a man who had something else on his mind. These visits were something he had to do every so often, but that didn’t necessarily make them enjoyable. He had long ago given up getting his prisoner to see reason. Still, one had to keep trying. Anyway, seeing him was always a good reminder. It kept him from getting sloppy, losing his focus. 

Keeping to his sedate pace, he strolled through the compound, past the ranks of drilling soldiers, past new recruits hurrying to and from lessons, past high-ranking generals chatting among themselves. He paused now and then to speak a few words and to accept the deference of his people. Of course, he wasn’t doing all this for himself - it wouldn’t do to start thinking that all of this activity going on around him was for his own personal sake - but he found their admiration heartening all the same. It made him feel that he was really on the right track. 

The door to the Uprising’s prison cells was located at the very center of the compound. Anyone who wanted to get out of them would have to find their way up several flights of stairs, navigating a variety of self-locking doors, heat and motion detectors, and other traps, and that would just to be to get to the ground floor of the main building. Beyond that, you’d have to get out of the building itself, and then beyond a whole regiment of trained fighters itching for a battle, and then through the well-defended outer walls. The odds of anyone ever managing it, no matter how powerful they might be, were practically nil. The thought of it made him smile faintly. The Innovator might not have been known for his prowess in battle, but no one had ever been able to beat Akaba Leo when it came to traps. 

Even so, the cell he was about to visit was harder to escape than most. It had been made to contain Leo’s most powerful enemy. It was not an uncomfortable cell - indeed, it was fairly luxurious by most people’s standards, a bit like an upscale hotel room. It had plush carpets, comfortable furniture, shelves of books and movies, and a large bathtub. All it was lacking were some windows and a way out. 

The Professor made his way past rows of cells, ignoring the curses and pleas for mercy from the prisoners, all the way to the end of the hall. There he paused in front of a heavily barred door. From the recesses of his coat, he withdrew a tiny key. With his other hand, he touched various points on the door, moving small panels around like the parts of a complicated puzzle box, which was more or less what they were. At last, the shifting tiles revealed a slot, into which he inserted the key and turned it. Then he removed a glove so that he could press his thumb to the chip. The device began to glow as it scanned his thumbprint. The door had been designed so that only someone who had the correct key, knew how to open the puzzle sliders, and had a registered fingerprint could ever get in. A thief could steal the key, an expert technician could foil the sliding puzzle, and a shapeshifter could mimic Leo’s fingerprints, but it would be virtually impossible for someone to manage all three. The Professor smiled as he opened the door and let himself inside. Some things, it was hard not to be proud of. 

Beyond the door was a staircase. It was a long one, extending the equivalent of several floors belowground, with numerous landings where an escapee might be trapped as he tried to escape. Even someone going down the stairs had to be careful where he stepped to avoid triggering something, but he had made this journey often enough now that the steps were second nature to him. At last, he reached the bottom. There was a door there, too, with another lock of similar complexity as the one above, but the Professor didn’t open this one. Instead, he walked over to a panel in the wall and tapped in a key code. This caused the panel to slide off to one side, revealing a large window into the room beyond. Within the room, a dejected-looking man sat in an armchair, gazing thoughtfully into space. He glanced briefly at the opening window before turning disinterestedly away. 

“What’s the matter?” the Professor asked. “Aren’t you glad to have a visitor?” 

The man shrugged. 

“You know it doesn’t have to be this way. You know this is nothing personal. I would let you out, if you would just give us some guarantee of your cooperation.” 

“You have my answer already.” 

“There’s no point in being so stubborn. You know our plans are going to proceed regardless of what you do or do not choose to do. If you want to sit here and sulk, that’s your business, but it won’t make any difference in the end. Come out and join us. Lend your strength to the cause. It will make things much easier for you.” 

“Will it protect the life of my son?” 

“You know I can’t guarantee that. We aren’t going to hurt him on purpose, but accidents do happen. On the other hand, they might be more likely to happen if you continue to behave like this.” 

“I don’t trust you. You’ll destroy whatever you decide to destroy, whether I help you or not. If I aid you, I have no doubt that you will use whatever I give you to destroy the very things I want most to protect. If my choices are inaction or living with my wife and son’s blood on my hands, then I will remain here knowing that whatever happens was entirely your doing.” 

“That is some remarkably convoluted logic,” said the Professor. “I suspect you are going a bit stir crazy from sitting alone for too long.” 

“My mind is clearer than yours, thank you very much.” 

“Those are ironic words, coming from you.” The Professor reached for the keypad again. “I’ll give you one last chance. This might be the last time I have the chance to visit you for a while, so you should make the most of it. Agree to help us, even with something small, and we can see about finding you more comfortable accommodations. We can even arrange for your wife to be made safe. We could even fetch her here to keep you company, if you’d prefer that.” 

“And my son?” 

“I’m afraid I can’t make any promises regarding him.” 

“Then the answer is no. I won’t sell my son’s life for any price.” 

“Not even for your wife’s safety?” 

“Go away.” 

The Professor shrugged. “As you wish.” 

He tapped the keypad again, and the window slid closed. He walked away again, shaking his head. 

When he reached the ground floor, Yuuri was there waiting for him. 

“So, how did it go?” he asked. 

The Professor shrugged. “The same as usual. He really is quite a stubborn man. Perhaps next time, you should have a go at speaking to him. You have ways of getting people to talk to you, don’t you?” 

“I do,” Yuuri agreed. “But I would like to make that a last resort. Some of my methods only work once. They should be kept in reserve.” 

“So they should,” the Professor agreed. “And you do have other things on your plate just now, don’t you?” 

“So true,” Yuuri agreed. 

The two of them strolled away together, side by side, thinking their own thoughts. They were still basically in accord: one day soon, something would have to be done about their prisoner. Soon, yes... 

...but not yet.


	15. Time to Go

It was time. 

Masumi went through the ritual of checking her equipment. Not that there was really a lot she could check, but she needed to do something to get herself into the correct frame of mind for this operation, and her options in that regard were limited. For now, the best she could do was make sure she had everything that had been in her pockets when she’d left her world, plus a few things she’d been able to acquire while she was here: a haversack, a few notebooks and pencils, her textbooks, an ID card, and a few other odds and ends. Anything she could bring back to her own world could potentially be a clue that would help put an end to the Uprising. When she was satisfied that she’d done all she could, she slung her bag over her shoulder and started for the rendezvous point. 

She found Hokuto and Yaiba waiting for her in the shrubbery behind the training ground. 

“Good, you’re here,” she said. 

“What took you so long?” asked Yaiba. “We’ve been waiting for like half an hour.” 

“I was preparing,” she said. “Are you two ready to go?” 

“Sure thing,” said Yaiba. 

“I guess,” said Hokuto. 

She patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry - we’re going to get you out of here.” 

“I hope so,” he said. “I tried reading the cards again today, and the signs were... pretty confused.” 

“Did they say we weren’t going to make it?” Masumi asked. “Or that something bad would happen if we tried?” 

“I don’t think that’s what they meant,” he said slowly. “I’m pretty sure we’re going to go somewhere, anyway, but there are big obstacles ahead. We shouldn’t start thinking that everything is going to go according to plan.” 

“I never think that anyway,” said Masumi. “Plan for the worst and hope for the best is every hero’s motto.” 

“Still, maybe we should pick an easier target?” Haruto asked nervously. “That Yuuri guy gives me the creeps.” 

“No argument there,” said Yaiba. “But I happen to know he’s not in his room right now. He went off somewhere with that MacField guy he hangs out with.” 

“They might come back,” said Hokuto nervously. 

“Nah, it’s fine,” said Yaiba. “From what I hear, they go off to this private garden of Yuuri’s and sit around drinking tea and playing chess. Some people think they do other stuff in there too,” he added, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. 

“Not something we needed to know,” said Masumi. “The important thing is that we can count on him to be gone for a few hours, and all we need is a few minutes. We get in, we grab whatever we can, and we get out. Understood?” 

The two boys nodded. Masumi straightened up. “All right, then we go. Hokuto, you go ahead and check for trouble. Yaiba, you watch our backs. If either of you spot any trouble, I’ll back you up.” 

The others fell into position without comment. They had operated in this fashion together before, and they all knew the drill. The only difference was that before, they had only been on simple training exercises, but this time, a mistake could mean a life of imprisonment or worse. 

_But it still doesn’t feel real,_ Masumi thought, as they picked their way through the darkened compound. The stars overhead were unfamiliar, but they were shining serenely. There were no people around, but from the dorms Masumi could hear faint sounds of life going on as usual - people talking and laughing together, soft music playing, an electronic cacophony that was probably a video game. If she let her eyes unfocus, she could have been outside the LDS headquarters and not in another world. 

The generals had their own barracks separate from the rank and file troops, a building that was more like a fancy manor house or upscale bed and breakfast. Masumi hadn’t been inside before, but she’d heard rumors of the amenities: gourmet chefs, hot tubs, saunas, a private movie theater, underground private training facilities, and other more fantastic claims. She wasn’t sure how much of this was true, but she’d taken the opportunity earlier in the day to walk around the building and peek in the windows to check the security, and it had definitely been several cuts above her utilitarian dorm room. 

She paused in the shadow of a large tree, and the other two gathered in close. Hokuto indicated by hand signals that he’d scout the perimeter while the other two watched for trouble, and then slipped silently off into the night. Masumi waited, outwardly still as stone, but with her heart racing in her chest. Mentally, she counted off the seconds, knowing that it would take a few minutes even at a normal walking pace to make it all the way around the building, and Hokuto would be moving as cautiously as he could. Five minutes... six minutes... seven... 

Her count was up to twelve by the time Hokuto came back. 

“Everything is pretty quiet,” he said. “I don’t get the sense that a lot of people are around. The outside doors are locked, but someone left a window cracked near the back garden. I guess they wanted to let the smell of the flowers in.” 

“Just as long as we can get in that way, too,” said Masumi. 

“It’ll be a squeeze, but I think we can do it,” said Hokuto. “It looks like it leads into some sort of library or den, though. Somebody could wander in at any time.” 

“That’s true anywhere,” said Masumi. “We’re going to have to risk it. Only someone in that building will have the tools to get us home but might be unprotected enough that we can get to them, so we have no choice. We’ll just have to be quick.” 

The others nodded, looking grimly determined. She didn’t blame them. She wished she’d had more time to plan this, too, but she couldn’t risk anything happening to Hokuto. 

_And let’s be honest, here - I wanted a look inside that Yuuri’s rooms anyway._

The man really was a mystery. Everyone here admired him - or, at least, respected his authority. He was widely acknowledged as one of the most dangerous fighters in the Uprising, beating out even people whose S-levels were technically far greater than his. It wasn’t just that he was powerful, but that he was devious and resourceful as well. He seemed to have a knack for working out what other people were thinking and what they were going to do, and then planning about twelve steps ahead. More importantly, he seemed to have an unusually close relationship with the Professor, to the point where some people considered him Akaba’s adopted son, or even his illegitimate one. There was always an undercurrent of fear in people’s voices when they talked about Yuuri, and that made Masumi curious. She’d have given a lot to know what made someone like that so widely feared in a place like this. 

Besides, she wanted something to bring back home as evidence, and if anyone in this place had useful information, it was probably him. 

The little team began easing their way through the shadows. She could say this for her team: they knew how to move without being spotted. Yaiba was an expert in channeling his inner ninja, and as for Hokuto, when he decided he wanted to escape notice, he might as well be invisible. In this area, at least, Masumi felt herself outclassed. 

At last, they reached the window, which was still standing ajar by an inch or two. Yaiba produced one of his blades and gently pried it open, then used the knife to wedge it in place. He climbed through the opening, then reached down to help his two friends in after him. Once inside, Masumi took a quick scan of the room. In a normal world where the sun came out, it would probably have been a comfortable, homelike place, all deep-cushioned chairs and sofas, fluffy rugs, and shelves full of mellow old books arranged around a wide fireplace. In a dark place like this, it gave off a certain amount of “haunted manor” vibrations. Masumi didn’t like it; there were too many dark corners, too many places a watcher could be hiding or a trap could be sprung. 

_We should go back and find another way,_ Masumi’s better sense told her. This room was not secure; going forward would put them into potential danger. 

_There isn’t another way,_ she told herself. _Anyway, this is a public room. Anyone could walk in. They aren’t going to put traps here._

“Anyone nearby?” she whispered to Hokuto. 

He closed his eyes. “No one in this room. People moving around outside, but it’s hard to tell exactly what part of the building they’re in.” 

Masumi nodded. She switched to hand gestures, miming, “Follow me, proceed with caution.” Together, they crept towards the door. It was closed, but Masumi’s understanding was that it led to a hallway lined with doors to other public rooms like this one. At either end were staircases leading to the upper levels where the dorms should be. There was also a private elevator next to the staircase in the west wing that led up to the top floor where the most elite members of the Uprising lived in what was reputed to be palatial splendor. The elevators required school passes to make them run - only someone who could prove they actually lived up there had the luxury of bypassing the stairs. However, the stairs did go up that high, if only for safety reasons, and Masumi and her crew were prepared to make the climb. 

_Probably better that way. I doubt anyone who lives on the top floor ever bothers to take the stairs when they have an elevator, so there’s less chance of us being seen._

Perhaps she should have been thinking less about how she was going to reach the top floor and more about how she was going to safely make it to the stairs. She pushed the door to the study open a crack and put her head through it. Immediately, a large pair of hands grabbed her and yanked her out into the hall. She tried to throw up a shield to force her attacker off of her, but even as she did so, a loop of strong cable lassoed itself around her and pinioned her arms to her sides. Behind her, she could hear a yelp of surprise, and managed to turn her head enough to see Selena burst out of a shadow behind the furniture and fling herself at Yaiba. Whoever had grabbed Masumi yanked hard on her bonds, and she discovered that she was being lifted off her feet, hung up like a living piñata. 

“Hokuto, get out of here!” she shouted, unnecessarily. Hokuto had already realized he couldn’t fight his way out of this one alone and was dashing for the window. Before he could make it, a heavy grille dropped from the ceiling and clanged over the opening, nearly taking off Hokuto’s hand in the process. Masumi watched as a big man, probably the same person who had grabbed her, strode into the room and methodically took over Selena’s work of keeping Yaiba under wraps. Selena smoothly backed off and turned her attention to the helpless Hokuto instead. Within seconds, all three of the LDS students had been tied up and strung from hooks on the ceiling. 

“Well, Selena,” said the big man, “it looks as though your instincts were correct.” He sounded pleased, as though catching intruders in the middle of the night was a special treat for him. 

Yaiba glared at Hokuto. “I thought you said there was no one in the room! How could this chick get the jump on me if there was no one in the room?” 

“I swear, I didn’t detect anyone!” Hokuto snapped. “She must be some kind of portal jumper.” 

Selena.... Masumi turned her head to glare at her. The girl had a smug look on her face that made Masumi want to smack her. Even more, she felt a sense of betrayal. Masumi had thought they were getting along. She’d even felt that under other circumstances, they might have become friends. She had been genuinely sympathetic to Selena’s position, and hoping that she might someday find a way out of it. Now here was Selena, looking so pleased with herself over this little victory. 

“If your friend here had agreed to spar with our powers instead of regular hand-to-hand,” she was telling Hokuto, “she’d have known that hiding is one of my special skills.” 

“How did you know?” Masumi demanded. 

“You talked too much,” said Selena. “You said something about how everyone around here was so gung-ho about the Uprising, which suggested to me that maybe you weren’t. Besides, no one around here would suggest disobeying the Professor. It just isn’t done. So I looked a little more closely at you and found out you were all important students at LDS, and that you’d been brought here first and only agreed to join after the Professor laid out your options for you - in other words, that you might have only joined up because you were afraid of what would happen if you didn’t. It wasn’t hard to guess that you might just be confident enough in your own powers to try something like this. What were you trying to do, anyway?” 

“You’re so smart - you guess,” said Masumi. 

Selena stared at her a moment. Then she shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Yuuri will get it out of you when he gets back. I suppose I ought to thank you, though,” she added. “You did say I should do something to prove to the Professor that I’m ready for field combat, and catching you three might just do it. So thanks for that.” 

“It won’t,” said Masumi. 

Selena’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know?” 

“Because I know the type,” said Masumi. “The Professor isn’t keeping you here because he doesn’t think you’re up to the job. He’s keeping you here as some sort of creepy replacement goldfish for his dead daughter. You’re just a pretty doll to him - a security blanket to make himself feel better. He won’t let anything happen to you. You’re stuck here forever unless you’re willing to cut ties with the Uprising altogether.” 

“That’s not true!” Selena snapped. “Anyway, there’s no way out of the Uprising. We’re going to win, and we’re going to make life better for everyone. Once the war is over, he’ll have nothing to be afraid of. He’ll have to let me go, then.” 

“He’ll think of some other reason,” said Masumi. “He’ll find rebels, plots, saboteurs. Something. There will always be another excuse.” 

“Stop lying!” Selena snapped. “Anyway, why do you care?” 

“We could get you out,” said Masumi. “Let us go. Help us escape, and you can come with us. You can start a new life at LDS, or any other school you want. The Academy, maybe. Go somewhere he’ll never find you and live your own life for a change.” 

The big man stepped between Masumi and Selena. 

“That’s enough of your lies,” he said. “Selena, don’t listen to these people. They’re just trying to escape any way they can.” 

“I know the feeling,” Masumi thought Selena muttered. No one else seemed to hear. 

The man went on, “I will stand guard here. You should go and tell the Professor what has occurred. I’m sure he will be very pleased with our night’s work.” 

“Yes, Barrett,” said Selena. She sounded a bit distracted, as though she’d been given something to think about. Masumi hoped so. It was a slender thread to hold on to, but there was just that tiny chance that this girl might somehow become an ally. There didn’t seem to be any other potential allies around here. 

Selena left the building. The big man, who must have been the bodyguard Selena had complained so much about, settled in to check his captives’ bonds and make sure no one was getting away. Masumi resigned herself to hanging out for a while. 

However uncomfortable she might be at the moment, wherever she wound up next was probably going to be worse. 

* * *

Yuuya slowly sat up, blinking painfully. The flash of light the box had emitted had been powerful enough to hit his eyes like a physical blow, and he thought he might have even blacked out for a few seconds when it went off. He patted himself down, marveling that all his pieces still seemed to be attached. 

“Guys?” he called. “Hey, guys, you still here?” 

“Ow,” said Yuuto. He unwrapped himself from his cloak, which he seemed to have gotten tangled in when he’d fallen. “What the hell was that?” 

“I don’t know,” said Gongenzaka, “but whatever it was, I don’t like it.” 

“I think I’m okay,” said Yuzu. “Sora, are you all right?” 

Sora was already on his feet and poking at the box. “It didn’t blow up, but it’s not blinking anymore. I reckon it’s done whatever it’s going to do.” 

“But what was it doing?” Yuuya asked. 

Sora shrugged. “Search me. I’m not a tech expert.” 

“We need to get it to Akaba Reiji, then,” said Yuuya. “He’s the most technical person we know. He’ll know what it is.” 

Yuzu took out her phone and poked at it. “My phone’s dead.” 

Yuuya tried his. So did some of the others. Everything seemed to be dead. So, it turned out, were Yuzu’s music players and everyone’s cameras. Everything more complicated than a flashlight, it seemed, had been killed by the flash. 

“Must have been some sort of EMP device,” said Yuuya. “We’d better go check in with Nico before we do anything else, and get some fresh equipment. Anyway, he’s going to be going bonkers if he loses contact with all of us at once.” 

Everyone agreed to this plan. Gongenzaka was given possession of the box; one thing about Gongenzaka was that when you gave him a thing to carry, you could be sure nothing would make him stop carrying it. Dropping things was something other people did. Once they were all situated, Yuuya took to his trapeze and set off into the sky. 

He was partway across the city when he realized that something was going on. Sirens were wailing, and he could just make out smoke and flames in the distance. His heroic instincts urged him to change course, to see what he could do to help, but he forced himself to look away. He had no way to relay his plans to his friends right now, not with their communication devices down, and going into a dangerous situation without functioning communicators or working cameras or any contact with his home base was likely to lead to disaster. The city had other heroes; he had to take care of his team first. 

_As soon as we’ve sorted things out with Nico, though, we can get out there and lend a hand. He probably knows what’s going on there, anyway. We can go in prepared._

He expected to arrive at the agency and find Nico worrying. He was not expecting to find him tearing his hair out. 

“Where have you been?” he shouted, as soon as Yuuya walked through the door. “What is going on? Do you have any idea...?” 

“Whoa, whoa, easy!” said Yuuya, nearly bowled over. He had never seen Nico so agitated. “I don’t know what’s going on! We got hit by some kind of EMP burst - all our phones are down.” 

“And your cameras too, I happen to notice,” said Nico, with a kind of brittle calm. 

“Well, yeah,” said Yuuya. “I’m sorry if we worried you...” 

“Worried? _Worried_? Do you have any idea what... what...” Nico ran out of words and trailed off, spluttering. 

Yuuto materialized next to Yuuya. “What’s going on?” 

“I dunno, but Nico’s pretty upset about it, whatever it is,” Yuuya replied. 

Nico stared at them both in what appeared to be mild amazement. “You really don’t know?” 

“Of course we don’t. We just got here,” said Yuuya. “Look, just calm down and tell us what’s been going on.” 

“I don’t need to tell you,” said Nico. “I can show you.” 

He stalked over to his computer, tapped a key, and then turned the screen around so that Yuuya and Yuuto could see. 

When the rest of the team arrived, they were still watching. 

“Guys, what’s up?” Yuzu asked, trying to crane around Gongenzaka to see. 

“We might have a problem,” said Yuuya faintly. 

He stepped aside so the others could see. On the screen was a televised newscast, showing a woman speaking urgently into a microphone. In the background was a building on fire, and perched on a rooftop nearby lobbing explosives through the windows was someone who, to all appearances, was Yuuya. 

“This has been going on since shortly after you went into that building,” said Nico. “Your signal started going hazy as soon as you got near it, and once you were inside I lost touch with you altogether. Shortly after that, _this_ started to happen. So far there have been reports in at least three places suggesting that The Entertainer has been setting off explosions and robbing stores in different parts of the city.” 

“That’s impossible, though,” said Yuuya. 

“It is impossible,” said Yuzu sharply. “Yuuya would never do a thing like that! Anyway, he was with us!” 

It occurred to Yuuya that he technically hadn’t been with them the whole time - they’d all split up to search, after all - but decided it would be stupid to actually say so. 

“That isn’t what I mean, though,” he said. “I mean, we weren’t gone but maybe half an hour. I can travel pretty fast, but I’m not a hyperspeeder like some people. To do all that, I’d have had to be able to be in two or three places at once.” 

There was an awkward silence. Nico cleared his throat. After a second or two, Yuuya realized that everyone seemed to be looking at Yuuto. 

“It wasn’t me!” said Yuuto. 

Nico eyed him suspiciously. “You do look a great deal like Mr. Sakaki. And you are a shadow-jumper...” 

“Yes, but even when I’m in shadow space, I have to cross the physical space between places. I can go a little faster because I don’t have to worry about there being anything in my way, but that’s all.” 

“Besides, he was definitely with us when this stupid box went off,” said Yuuya. “He came as soon as I called for him. There’s no way he could have done all of that and still been the first one on the scene.” 

“I expect you’re right,” said Nico, who was finally beginning to regain his composure, “but the real question is, if that isn’t one of you up there, who is it? And how are we going to convince everyone that it isn’t you?” 

“That machine device fried our cameras,” said Yuuto slowly. “It must have been meant to stop us from recording so we couldn’t prove our whereabouts, and then stun us long enough that they’d have time to work. We were set up.” His gaze turned to Yuuya. “Or at least, you were.” 

“Me? What did I do?” Yuuya yelped. 

“If this was set up by the Uprising,” said Yuuto, “then apparently they’ve decided you’re a threat to their plans. They’re trying to discredit you without directly engaging you.” 

“Maybe,” said Yuuya, “but what I want to know is, how do we deal with this?” 

There was a silence. Then Yuzu took a deep breath. 

“I think...” she began. 

“Um, can I say something?” asked Sora, putting up a hand. 

Yuuya glanced at Yuzu to see how she felt about being interrupted. Somewhat to his surprise, she looked relieved. Normally Yuzu was not a woman who put up with being talked over. Perhaps she’d been about to say she thought the situation was hopeless, and was glad someone else had something constructive to say. 

“Yes, Sora?” he said. 

“Seems to me we’re still where we were before,” he said. “That Sawatari guy was already telling people you were a villain and attacked him, so this isn’t really much worse. Someone just took his idea and ran with it.” 

“But we’ve already talked to him,” said Yuuto. “He said he wouldn’t take it back, and even if we thought we could change his mind before, we certainly can’t do it now.” 

“Then we do what we were planning to do all along,” said Sora. “We find the guys responsible for this and prove it was them who did it. There’s a million different ways to disguise yourself as someone else, and anyway, Yuuya wears a full-body costume and a mask. All anybody would need is the right sort of build and a wig and nobody could tell the difference at a distance. The only thing they wouldn’t be able to fake is your powers, and they didn’t use those, did they?” 

“Not that I’m aware of,” Nico admitted. “It looked as though they were relying completely on technology.” 

“Then it should be easy to prove we’re not responsible, once we catch the guy who did it,” said Sora. “And we already know where they’re going, right?” 

“Right,” said Yuuya. He began to feel a little better. Sora was right - they’d already had a plan in place. They were just going to have to kick it into gear a little sooner than they’d planned. “So I guess that means we’d better get in touch with that Akaba Reiji guy and tell him we’re ready to go whenever. The sooner the better, in fact.” 

“Um,” said Sora, sounding uncertain. 

“Something wrong?” Yuuya asked him. 

“Well, see, the thing is, I’m still just a student,” he said. “I don’t have my license or anything. I might not be able to go with you when you leave.” 

Yuuya smiled reassuringly. “Hey, it’s okay. We all understand. You go back to school and hold tight until we get back, all right?” 

Sora nodded. “Okay. You guys just be safe and tell me all about it when you get back, all right?” 

“We definitely will,” Yuuya promised. 

“I’ll hold down the fort here for you,” said Nico. 

“I know we can count on you,” said Yuuya. “Don’t worry - we’ll be back before you know it.” 

He gave Yuuya a small smile. “Believe me, I know. This is the sort of thing that happens to heroes. The best ones bounce back stronger, and you are the son of the best I’ve ever known. You’ll be back.” 

Yuuya nodded, unable to say more. 

_I’ll be back. And if I’m lucky, I’ll bring my dad home with me. No, I_ will _bring him home._ A smaller voice said, _And maybe then I won’t just be the son of the greatest hero you’ve ever known - I’ll be that hero myself_

He turned back to his team. 

“Come on, guys. Let’s get to LDS,” he said. “before someone convinces Akaba there that we really are villains.” 

* * *

Reiji was sitting in his den, watching the evening news. He usually did, because he was the sort of person who liked to know everything that was going on, but tonight he was particularly intrigued. If he’d had a bit less restraint, he’d have sent for a bowl of popcorn. 

“Tsukikage?” he called. 

A blur in the air became a blue ninja, who bowed. “How may I serve you?” 

“I’m expecting guests to show up at any moment now,” he said. “Specifically, Sakaki Yuuya and his teammates. Watch the gate, please, and show them right in. Also, if you know where Kurosaki Shun is, send him up here as well. I’m going to want him.” 

“Right away,” said Tsukikage, and vanished again. 

_What a helpful person,_ Reiji mused, as he turned off the television with a wave of his hand. _Such a pity I can’t keep him around indefinitely. At least he will be useful on this mission._

He wandered into the playroom, where Reira was working a jigsaw puzzle. He seemed to like jigsaw puzzles, and indeed was capable of working far more complicated ones than a person might have expected from a boy his age. Reiji always sealed the ones he’d finished and put them on display on the playroom wall. Pretty soon, he was going to need to find another wall, but that was no big problem. LDS was full of walls; he’d make some room somewhere. 

“Reira,” he said softly. 

Reira didn’t look up, but his hand did stop moving in the middle of placing a piece. That was basically an acknowledgment that he was listening, coming from Reira. 

“Reira, I’m going away for a while,” Reiji said. “There’s some business I need to take care of. I’ll try to come back as soon as I can. Mother and Tsukikage will look after you while I’m gone. Is that all right?” 

“Going where?” Reira asked in a whisper. 

“Initially, to a place called Skyline City. It’s the nearest big city to this one, about an hour by train from here. That will be my first stop, but depending on what happens there, I might go a lot further.” 

“I... can come too?” 

“It will be dangerous,” said Reiji. “There are some bad people involved in this somewhere, and I don’t quite know what they’re going to try to do. I don’t want to put you into danger unless you’re really sure you want to go.” 

“My power could help, couldn’t it?” 

Reiji was impressed. That was a lot to say at once, for Reira. 

“Yes, I’m sure it could,” Reiji agreed. “So, do you want to come along, then? Remember, there’s no backing out once we leave. Make sure you’re prepared.” 

“I want to go,” said Reira. “I’m safe here. I can’t get stronger unless I go out.” 

Reira nodded; it was what he’d been expecting. 

“I was hoping you would see it that way,” he said. “Pack up anything you want to carry with you, then. Don’t worry so much about clothes - we’re traveling light today. We’ll be leaving in a few minutes.” 

Reira nodded. He stood up carefully and trotted off towards his bedroom, presumably to pack whatever it was he wanted to pack. Reiji wasn’t worried about that. He could take care of whatever logistical matters came up when they got to Skyline City. It was more important to him now that Reira was making his own decisions about what to bring along, thinking for himself and expressing his own preferences. He was sure this trip would be good for him. 

_I have no doubt that we’ll be able to settle all this quickly._ After all, he’d been thinking for years about what he was going to do when it came time to sort his father out once and for all. He was, in fact, looking forward to it. 

_I’ve waited a long time for this reckoning, Father, but you’re finally going to get what’s coming to you._

He was in his room packing up his own things when Tsukikage rematerialized. 

“Your guests are here, and I’ve located Kurosaki for you. Also, there is a young gentleman at the front gates demanding to be let in.” 

Reiji raised an eyebrow. There were not many things in this world he was surprised by, but he hadn’t been expecting anyone tonight besides the Sakaki person and his crew. He couldn’t think, offhand, of anyone else who was involved in this business. Unless.... 

“Let me guess,” he said. “Rather untidy light brown hair with blond highlights, blue eyes, probably mentioned his father at least once?” 

“That’s right, sir,” said Tsukikage. “Were you expecting him?” 

“No, but I probably should have been,” said Reiji with a sigh. Sawatari Shingo was a complication he hadn’t wanted to deal with, but as long as he was here... “Might as well see what he wants. Show him in with the others, please.” 

“Right away, sir,” said the ninja, and vanished again. 

Reiji stood quietly for a moment, turning matters over in his mind. This, he decided, was going to be more interesting than he’d originally anticipated. He’d known that this would be good for Reira, and had no doubt it would be salubrious for Sakaki Yuuya as well. Now he considered that Sawatari would also benefit from spending a little time out from under his father’s shadow. Feeling almost cheerful, he slung his backpack over one shoulder and strolled into the briefing room. 

He found more or less what he’d expected to see. The briefing room contained a single long table surrounded by comfortable office chairs. At one end of the room, Yuuya and his teammates were clustered together, looking nervous but resolute. At the other end of the table, Sawatari was slouched in a chair looking defiant. Kurosaki had settled himself near the edge of the Sakaki contingent, next to the boy with the black and purple hair, who seemed to be a friend of his. Tsukikage had taken up a post next to the only door, though whether he was keeping people out or keeping people in was anyone’s guess. Reira had taken a seat somewhere in the middle, and was now sitting with his head down, not looking at anyone. He was always shy around new people - understandable, considering the way his powers used to get out of control. It would be good for him to start meeting a few more people and getting used to the idea that he could be safe around them. 

“So,” said Reiji, striding briskly in, “is everyone here who intends to be here?” 

There was a general affirmative murmuring. 

“Good,” he said. “Then I would like to make sure that everyone here is on the same page. I’m afraid this will require covering some ground that many of you are familiar with already, but I’m sure it will prevent misunderstandings further down the road. 

“A few weeks ago, a rash of disappearances began. Students began to vanish from various schools for heroes. LDS and Hero Academy have both taken losses, and I understand that Heartland Academy lost so many students it was forced to close. At the same time, there were also a number of non-supers who also vanished without a trace. So far, not many people have connected the two things, but I have reason to believe that they were caused by an organization calling themselves the Uprising. This group describes themselves as advocates for the rights - indeed, the superiority - of supers. They visit schools to recruit young soldiers to their cause, and then send them out into the world to capture normals and return them to their base camp to become their enslaved workers. This is unacceptable, but I suspect it is only the tip of the iceberg. Moreover, I have reason to believe that my father, Akaba Leo, is behind it all. Therefore, I am proposing to seek out their base of operations in this world, locate the man behind it all, and shut down the Uprising at its roots. I propose to bring at least some of the people in this room as my team.” 

“You can count on us,” said Yuuya, which was what Reiji had expected him to say. The rest of his team nodded. Reiji let his gaze travel over them briefly. He knew Yuzu, of course - he’d kept tabs on her because of her family ties to his own father - but the others were unknown quantities. The big man with the pompadour haircut looked like someone you could rely on, but he didn’t know what to make of the man in black with the mask and scarf. Reiji had never entirely approved of heroes who hid their faces from the public. 

Kurosaki shrugged. “I go where Yuuto goes. Anyway, I want a piece of the guys who took my sister.” 

“I’m going,” said Reira firmly. Reiji smiled slightly and gave him an encouraging nod. 

“I, of course, will see my mission through to the end,” said Tsukikage with a bow. 

“I’m coming too,” said Shingo. 

Reiji gave him a raised-eyebrow look of faint amusement. “Is that so? I wasn’t aware that this situation related to you in any way. I was under the impression that you had perhaps come here to raise a complaint against Mr. Sakaki here.” 

To his credit, Sawatari didn’t rise to the bait. It was perhaps the first time in their acquaintance that he had failed to do so. Reiji remembered Sawatari Shingo as a student who had been long on talent but short on brains and even shorter on patience, a man whose constant boasting and preening had suggested to Reiji someone who had both a high opinion of himself and an abiding fear that no one else did. 

“Well, I’m not,” said Sawatari. “I... I made a mistake about Sakaki and them. They aren’t villains, and I shouldn’t have said they were.” 

“Well, well,” said Reiji, adjusting his glasses to see the boy better. “What brought about this change of heart?” 

“I ran into the guy who was setting fires tonight,” said Sawatari. “He said he was with the Uprising, and his name was Yuuri. He was wearing a mask and I think maybe a wig, so I couldn’t get a good look at his face, but he was using plant powers and not that circus stuff that Sakaki does, so I know it must have been someone else. Once knew that, I went to Sakaki’s agency to tell him about it, and his manager said he’d come here, so here I am.” Shingo scowled. “That guy was laughing at me. He used me for his plans and made a fool of me, and I’m going to give him some payback. So I’m coming with you, whether you like it or not!” 

“Indeed,” said Reiji, nodding his understanding. It did make sense. From what he understood, Sawatari was the kind of person who would rather anything than be thought a fool. Still, it must have taken a lot out of him to admit he’d been used in such a way, and that suggested he was not completely hopeless. “Well, I won’t turn down a bit of extra firepower. You may come in handy for something at some point. All right, you may join my party.” 

Sawatari sat up a little straighter, the light of glory coming into his eye. No doubt he was imagining how good it would look on his resume to say he had once been a teammate of the reclusive Akaba Reiji. 

“You can count on me!” he said. 

“I imagine I can,” said Reiji blandly. He supposed he probably could, insofar as he could predict the way Sawatari would behave in any given circumstances, given a reasonable amount of information. “All right, it seems we have our team. Here is how I propose we do this. Tsukikage, Reira and I will depart this evening and set up a base. Once we are there, I will send you all my coordinates so we can rendezvous. Do you all have transportation? Your own transportation, not something you can ask someone else for,” he added, not quite looking at Sawatari. He had no doubt that Sawatari was capable of getting someone in his father’s employ to drive him anywhere he wished to go - or charter a private jet, if it came to that. What he couldn’t imagine Shingo doing was going anywhere quietly, without attracting any attention or without packing as though he were going on a year-long round-the-world cruise. As for the others, well... a hero license technically granted you permission to drive a vehicle, but that didn’t mean Sakaki and his crew had one available for their use. 

“I can fly myself,” said Shun, “unless you want me to go with you.” 

“No, I think it better if we move separately for now,” said Reiji. “A large group of heroes moving into a city is likely to draw attention.” 

“I don’t have my own car yet,” said Sawatari, a trifle sulkily. 

“Take the train,” Reiji suggested. 

Sawatari looked shocked. “I’ve never taken the train like a common person before!” 

“Then no one will be expecting it,” said Reiji. “Consider yourself under cover.” 

Sawatari looked as though he’d have liked to argue, but then thought better of it. He sighed. 

“The things I do,” he muttered. 

Reiji looked back at Sakaki and his crew. “What about you? Do I need to loan your lot a car?” 

“I could probably come up with something,” said Yuuya. 

Reiji raised an eyebrow. “Not planning to ride a circus pony to Skyline City, are you?” 

To his surprise, Yuuya grinned. “Well, I could borrow mom’s motorcycle, but she’d have a fit. Nah, don’t worry, I’ve got something better than a pony. Better for moving a lot of people around, anyway.” 

“Then that’s all settled,” said Reiji. “Please make sure I have your contact information. Those of you who aren’t leaving with me tonight, go home, pack, say goodbye to whoever you need to, and get a good night’s sleep. You’ll have your marching orders first thing tomorrow.” 

The group seemed to understand that they were being dismissed. One by one, they slipped out of the room, pausing just long enough to make sure he knew how to contact them when he wanted them. That was good. So far, no one was questioning his right to be in charge of this operation. He’d been a bit worried that some of the stronger personalities in the group might insist on doing things their own way, but after years of dealing with things in the wake of Leo’s disappearance, Reiji had gotten very good at getting recalcitrant people to do what he said. 

And then they were gone - all but Reira and Tsukikage, both of them patiently waiting for whatever was going to happen next. Reiji gave them both a nod of acknowledgment. 

“I hope you’re both packed,” he said. 

Reira nodded silently and held up a small backpack. He was already wearing the telepathy-blocking bracelets that would help to keep him safe in the outside world. Other than that, he probably didn’t need much else. Tsukikage gave another small bow. 

“I am accustomed to traveling light,” he said. “I am prepared to leave at any moment.” 

“Good,” said Reiji. “Then we’ll go now.” 

He began leading the way to the car that was waiting for them. He hadn’t told anyone he wanted it, but it had obeyed his call anyway. Most things did. He patted its hood with something like affection as he walked around it to the driver’s seat, but his mind was already on other things. That didn’t matter. The car knew where he wanted it to go, and it would get him there far more reliably than any human driver could. All the same, Reiji settled himself behind the wheel, just for the look of the thing, and leaned back to let his mind wander. 

_Looks like we’ll be seeing each other again soon, Father,_ he thought. _And then you will finally know just how badly you miscalculated._


	16. Resolve

Barret patted Selena on the shoulder as they watched their prisoners being led away. 

“You did very well today,” he said. “You should be proud.” 

She mustered up a smile for him. “Thanks. You weren’t too shabby yourself.” 

Barrett preened a little - he did have his pride after all - but what he said was, “You’re the one who deserves most of the credit. If you hadn’t been sharp enough to pick up on what they were doing, they probably would have gotten away with it.” 

“Anyone would have noticed, if they were paying attention,” said Selena, a little more sharply than she’d intended. Fortunately, Barrett wasn’t really listening to her. No doubt he was thinking about the accolades he would get from the Professor for this night’s work. Barrett was not a powerful super, but his knack for traps had earned him a high rank in the Uprising. Selena gathered that before he’d joined, he had tried and failed to be accepted into several major hero teams, but had never managed to be more than a second-stringer in a third-rate group. Here, he got the approbation he longed for, and he had good reason to expect more of the same tonight. 

But as for Selena... 

_He isn’t going to let you go..._

She shook herself. Of _course_ he would let her go someday. He had to. All parents did, sooner or later, didn’t they? And it wasn’t even that he was her real father. He was just a kind man who had taken an orphaned child under his wing. She wasn’t even the only one. Someday he would see that she was grown up and ready to make her own choices. 

But underneath that conviction was the memory of Masumi’s eyes boring into her, and the echo of the words she had said. Those words had struck sparks off her soul the way flint sparked on steel. She had seemed so _sure_ that just for a moment... 

“I want to go talk to the Professor,” she said. 

Barrett looked slightly concerned. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You don’t want to look like you’re bragging. Better to wait and let him come to you.” 

“I don’t want to brag,” said Selena. “I just want to talk to him.” Defiantly, she added, “He’s my father. I can talk to him about things if I want to.” 

“Suit yourself,” said Barrett. “I’m going to make sure they put these spies away safely. I don’t trust them not to find some way of sneaking out even now. I’ll check on you later, all right?” 

Selena nodded, knowing that Barrett would check on her whether she said it was all right or not. It wasn’t that she disliked him - indeed, she was really quite fond of him, seeing him as a sort of uncle or older brother. He was probably fond of her too, in his way. He would look in on her because the Professor had ordered him to keep an eye on her, and he wanted to do a good job, but he would also look in on her because he really wanted to be certain she was all right. 

But at least he would be out of her hair for a little while. He liked seeing prisoners put into cells, especially if he was the one who’d brought them in; it was visible proof that he had triumphed. It was probably a character flaw, but Selena found she couldn’t really blame him. He was a warrior by nature, and he was being required to spend most of his time on guard duty. He probably deserved a little time to enjoy having done something remotely like combat, for once. 

_He probably wishes I was allowed to go out and fight, too, if only because he’d probably get to go with me,_ Selena thought, as she made her way across the compound. The Professor’s lodgings were set a little apart from the others, in the furthest and most isolated corner of the compound. Selena had always wondered a bit about that. As their leader, he could have commanded the most lavish rooms available. He _could_ have gone back to the Light Side and issued his orders via telacom. Instead, he denned down in a modest little house surrounded by bamboo fencing. That was all he needed to maintain his privacy. It was probably _possible_ for other people to get in and spy on him if that’s what they wanted to do, but the reverence in which he was held meant that no one would dare. Few people besides Selena ever so much as knocked on his door. 

She walked up to the gate and tried the latch. It was locked. 

A student loitering nearby said, “He’s gone out.” 

Selena blinked at him. “Where did he go?” 

“How should I know? He doesn’t tell me that sort of thing. I just know he went out for a while, and told me to watch the gate and tell anyone who asked that he wasn’t at home.” 

Selena scowled. That was just typical. The Professor, who was by his own admission a planner rather than a fighter, got to go out, but _she_ had to stay within the safe walls of the compound. 

“Well, when he gets back, tell him I was looking for him,” she said. 

The student nodded. “He said he shouldn’t be gone more than an hour or two, and that was a while ago. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” 

Selena nodded and began walking dejectedly back to her room. 

Her room. It was a good one, as these things went. Most of the dormitories here had a certain impersonal quality to them, even the quite comfortable ones issued to the high-ranking commanders. This was, after all, a type of military base, and no one here expected to live in the compound forever. Eventually, even the lowliest soldier could expect to go live in the Light Side when their tour of duty was over, and enjoy a place of their own and all the luxuries that went with it. Several people who had been, if not exactly friends, then at least people Selena had seen around often enough to feel like she knew them, had already earned their reward and gone off to the other dimension already. Only Selena stayed here, year after lonely year. She’d wondered sometimes if perhaps she might be allowed to go live in the Light Side instead, but the Professor had never suggested it and she’d never brought it up. She didn’t _want_ to go and be an idle princess in the other world; she wanted to be useful. Besides, she was sure Barrett wouldn’t go, and the Professor clearly didn’t want to, and she hated the thought of leaving the only two people in the world she felt any sort of connection to. 

Anyway, this room _was_ her home. Over the years, she’d settled into it and made it her own. She was one of the few people here, save for perhaps Yuuri and the Professor himself, to have picked out her own carpeting and wallpaper. All her things were here: pictures and posters on the walls, shelves full of books and old magazines, all the old toys she’d outgrown but couldn’t bear to throw away because the emptiness would have depressed her. She had years’ worth of birthday presents here. She couldn’t remember ever living anywhere else. 

Or... perhaps she could. Some nights, when the moon was positioned just right, so that she could see it shining through her window, she thought she could remember something more. It seemed to her that she could remember being very small - a baby, in fact - bundled up in a blanket and lying on a rooftop, looking up at the sky. The blanket had been blue and fleecy, with tiny stars on it, and the moon had been directly overhead, a thin white crescent like the sky smiling down on her. The wind had been cold, and she’d started to whimper, until a few curious cats had gathered around her, surrounding her with fur and warmth. She had been quite happy, then, lulled by their purring, until she’d begun to feel her first hunger pangs. She had cried, and the cats had licked her cheeks with their rough little tongues, but had been unable to comfort her. At last, a shadow had stepped in front of the moon, and a tall man had gathered her up in his arms, saying, “Don’t worry, little one. I’ve got you. I’m going to take care of you, now...” 

Selena had confessed some of this to a few classmates, talking about what their lives had been like when they were young. They had told her that she couldn’t possibly remember anything from when she was a baby, and said she must have dreamed it all up. After all, it was the right sort of origin story for someone who called herself the Moonlight Cat, and it more or less jibed with how the Professor had come to adopt her. Her rational mind said that they were probably right, but her heart didn’t believe them. She remembered everything, right down to the fluffiness of the blanket and the tickle of the cats’ whiskers. It was real enough for her. 

She had been lying back in her bed, thinking about the past and wondering about her future, when there was a knock on the door. 

“Selena? Are you in?” 

She sat up. “Father?” 

The door opened, and the Professor came in. 

“I heard you were looking for me,” he said. “I presume you wanted to say something about those spies you captured.” 

“Sort of,” she said. “What’s going to happen to them, anyway?” 

“They will be dealt with,” he said. “Most likely they will have their powers blocked and be sent to the Light Side to become laborers.” He sighed. “I had hoped for better from them. They had so much potential, but if they are diligent and prove they’ve learned their lesson, they may yet earn their freedom and a place in the new society.” 

_So they can earn their freedom, but I can’t,_ she thought rebelliously, but she tamped the thought down. 

“To tell the truth,” the Professor went on, “I had my doubts about them from the beginning, but I had to give them a chance to prove me wrong. I appreciate your help in stopping them, though. If they had been able to carry out their plans, it would have been a disaster. Thank you.” 

“You know I’m always glad to help, Father,” she said. 

“Yes, you are a good and diligent girl, and your devotion to the cause does you credit,” he said. 

“I only wish I could do more,” she said. 

“You do quite enough, Selena. You are a comfort to me and an example to the other students here.” 

“But I could be doing more,” she protested. “You know I could. I’ve had more training than anyone else in this school, practically. You know my powers are useful. I could at least go scouting sometimes. Collecting supplies. Anything.” 

He placed a hand on her shoulder. “I know you could, but it isn’t necessary. We have others who can do that sort of menial work for you. All I need from you is to be here to support me.” 

“But I’m bored!” She hated how it came out as a whine; it made her sound like a bratty teenager and not the adult she was trying to prove herself. 

A flicker of something - dismay? disapproval? - crossed his face, vanishing too quickly for her to identify. 

“I will see if some more advanced training can be arranged for you,” he said at last. “But I can’t have you going out and getting hurt. You need to stay here where you’re safe.” 

Selena wanted to say that more training wouldn’t do her any good, but she knew there was no point. Masumi had been right, after all. The Professor would never let her go; he would clutch her to his side like some ghastly security blanket, not because he loved her, but because having her around took the sting out of losing his _real_ daughter. He would keep her imprisoned until he died, and by then she would be so stultified that she wouldn’t know what to do with freedom anymore. 

_Masumi was right about everything,_ she thought, as the Professor bid her goodnight and left the room. _I knew she was, but I didn’t want to admit it. I’m never getting out of here unless I do it myself._

She considered the notion, and was surprised at how much it frightened her. The Dark Side was her home. Except for whatever brief span of time she’d lived before the Professor found her, she had rarely set foot outside the compound walls, and then it had only been a few carefully monitored visits to the Light Side with Barrett and the Professor always at her side. She had no idea what she would find in the world she’d been born in. The other students didn’t talk about it in much detail because they’d all been there and already knew, but to her it was as mysterious as the surface of Pluto. She had no money to support herself with, no friends to call on. If she left, she would be, for the first time in her life, completely alone, at the mercy of anything that crossed her path. 

_That’s why I never tried to get out._ Strange, how she had never realized it with such clarity before. The Professor hadn’t really needed walls and bodyguards to keep her trapped. He had made certain that fear would do the job for him. 

_But I can’t let fear stop me. I’m a warrior. I’ve had training. Anyway, I don’t have to leave forever. I’ll pack some supplies, I’ll take a portal gun, I’ll go into the other world for a day or two, and once I’ve proven I’m up to the job, I’ll..._

What? Come back and boast to the Professor of how brave and resourceful she’d been? But she already knew that had never been the issue. He would be furious at what he would no doubt see as a betrayal of his kindness. After all, he was _protecting_ her, wasn’t he? He would double down his security measures. She’d be locked in her room, escorted everywhere she went, watched over with guards and cameras even in her sleep. She would become no better than those poor souls with no powers at all, who drudged away as laborers in the Light Side. She’d be worse than them, because no one was afraid of them escaping or fighting back. She was far more dangerous than they were, and would be treated accordingly. No matter how she looked at the situation, she could see that there was only one possible answer. 

_If I leave, I can never come back._

Was she really ready to take that step? Could she leave behind most of her worldly goods, commit to never seeing the only friends and family she had ever again? 

If the reward was her freedom, then yes, she would pay that price. It would hurt, and she would probably spend the rest of her life wishing things had been otherwise, but she _would_ do it. In time, she might find other friends, other people who would become like family to her, but there would never be anything else here that would compensate her for freedom. 

_Tonight,_ she decided. _Right now. If I don’t go tonight, then by tomorrow I’ll have changed my mind, and I might never feel this brave again._

She looked around her room, mentally cataloging all the things she would have to leave behind, to carry with her only in her memories. 

_Sorry, Father,_ she thought, as she began to pack a bag. _I don’t think I’m going to be able to say goodbye._

* * *

Sora crept into the You Show office, feeling almost ashamed of himself. Nico was at his desk now, typing hurriedly. Normally he would have clocked out and gone home for the night by this time, but the events of the evening seemed to have convinced him that he needed to put in some overtime. Even now, he was frowning as he tried to find some way of controlling the damage. Strange as it was, Sora actually felt a little bad about that. After all, Nico was a normal; it was his role in life to work for the benefit of supers, no matter what that took out of him. All the same, Nico had always been so happy in his work, and it seemed wrong to find him looking so worried and drawn. It was worse knowing that Sora had played a role in making him that way. 

_Don’t be stupid. It was your duty. Anyway, what does it matter? In a few more weeks he’ll be working for the Uprising anyway, and he’ll have nothing more to worry about._

“Hey, Nico,” he said. 

Nico glanced up from his work. Tired and stressed though he was, he somehow managed to find a smile for Sora. “Oh, hello. What can I do for you?” 

“Nothing,” said Sora. “I just came to pick up my stuff. You know, since everyone else is going to go do the thing.” 

“Ahh, I see,” said Nico. “I take it you won’t be going with them, then?” 

Sora shook his head. “My mom thinks it’s too dangerous.” Well, that was the truth, all right. She had thought everything about being a super was too dangerous, up to and including being one at all “I’m going to go back to the school for a while.” 

“Quite understandable,” said Nico. “Well, it’s been lovely having you here. Perhaps when you graduate, you’ll come back and join us again.” 

“Maybe so,” said Sora, noncommittaly. “Guess we’ll have to see, huh?” 

Nico nodded. “Who knows? Do well in school and you might get scouted by someone famous. Promise me you’ll work hard, all right?” 

Sora agreed that he would. What else could he do? He slouched his way up to the room that had been his - the one, he realized, that he’d really started thinking of as _his_ room. Of course he knew his real room was his comfortable captain’s barracks back at the Dark Side, but something about this place had felt more personal. There had been times when he’d been able to forget for a few minutes that these people weren’t actually his friends and that he didn’t belong here. All the same, working here had been fun, and he realized he was going to miss it. 

He must have looked convincingly miserable when he came back downstairs lugging his bags. Nico gave him a sympathetic smile. 

“Wait one moment,” he said. 

He got up from his desk and went to rummage through some cupboards. He came up with a box of cupcakes. 

“Here,” he said. “These were for you. You might as well take them with you.” 

“Thanks,” said Sora, juggling his belongings to free up a hand. 

“No need to thank me,” said Nico. “Just take care of yourself, all right? And if you ever need a manager, look me up.” 

“I will,” said Sora. No harm in promising, right? Not when he knew he was never going to need a manager. All the same, he was surprised to find a lump rising in his throat, and an uncharacteristic to try to hug the man. Fortunately, he was carrying too many things just now to embarrass himself by following through on the impulse, but it occurred to him that if his father had been half as kind to him as Nico was, Sora’s life would have turned out a lot differently. 

“Well, bye,” he said, turning away quickly before he could embarrass himself. “And thanks for everything.” 

Then he left, hurrying a little more than he’d intended. He was surprised at himself. This kind of emotional reaction wasn’t like him. Ever since he’d found the Uprising, he’d been perfectly happy and confident. He loved the life they had given him. After years of suffering from not being given the right things to eat, now he had a top-notch chef to cook whatever he wanted for him. He hadn’t been sick a single day since he’d joined the Uprising. He had lots of friends here. For the first time in his life, everyone wanted to be on his team. The training might have seemed grueling for some, but after years of being constantly sick, Sora loved being able to flex his powers, to run and jump and revel in his own strength. And of course, it had always made perfect sense to him that supers should rule over normals. Nothing should have been able to sway him. Yuuya and the rest were nice enough people, and no doubt they thought they had good reasons for opposing the Uprising, but Sora didn’t feel any particular guilt for putting them through this. Sooner or later, they were bound to come around to the right way of thinking, and then they could join the Uprising and they’d all be friends again. They were bound to be grateful to him, once they understood what Sora had been trying to do for them. 

But Nico was still the element he couldn’t make fit. He was a normal. The destiny of normals was to serve their superiors. That was all they were good for, and they should be grateful to be allowed the opportunity to be useful. That was what Sora had always believed, and he’d never seen any reason to doubt it before now. It was just that somehow, if he tried to apply the idea to cheerful, hardworking Nico, it all came apart, because he couldn’t make himself believe that a man who was so happy and capable working _alongside_ his superpowered counterparts would really be better off or more useful being forced to serve beneath them. 

_Maybe it’ll still be okay,_ he tried to console himself, as he retreated into the first dark passage he could find. After all, people will low abilities could still earn their way through the ranks if they proved they could keep up with the greater powers, just as someone whose S-levels should place them high in the ranks could lose their position through laziness or incompetence. Perhaps once people understood what Nico was like, they would elevate him to a higher station. That idea didn’t feel quite right either, although Sora couldn’t think of a better one. 

_But the Professor will know what to do. He knows pretty much everything. He’ll sort it out,_ he told himself. Anyway, it was not his problem. He had done what he came here to do, and now he was going home. Fiercely, he jabbed at the button on his portal gun and opened the door that would take him to his _real_ home. 

He felt a little better once he was inside the compound. He knew how this place worked. He searched around until he found someone else from his corps to report to, asking them to tell his general that he’d returned from his mission and was ready to report any time. Then he went back to his room to unpack his things. Once they were all back in place, he looked around, reassuring himself that this room was larger and more comfortable and more attractive than the one he’d been occupying back at the You Show agency. 

He was still loitering around his room when his communicator alerted him that it was time to make his report. 

“Dennis MacField will consult with you in the second briefing room,” the terse message read. Sora slid off his bed and began marching towards the command center where the briefing rooms and other offices were housed. 

He found Dennis standing around juggling multicolored balls and humming a scrap of what sounded like carousel music. 

“There you are,” he said. “You know, you shouldn’t keep me waiting like this. I’ve had a lot to do tonight, you know - just one thing after another.” 

“What do you think I’ve been doing? Baking cookies?” Sora retorted. 

“Well, you might have been,” said Dennis. “Anyway, how did your mission go? I assume it has been a success?” 

“Yuuya and his bunch are packing up to go to Skyline City,” he said. “Leaving tomorrow sometime - they didn’t tell me their transportation details.” 

“Never mind. That doesn’t really matter,” said Dennis. “We can track them easily enough once they’re there.” 

“What’s going to happen to them next?” Sora asked. Then, in case that sounded like he was worried about them, he added, “I mean, are you going to need me for anything else? Because I already told them I couldn’t go with them.” 

“No, I believe your part in this escapade is complete,” said Dennis airily. “You will, of course, receive a small commendation for your services. As for Mr. Sakaki and his friends... well, the Professor has plans for them. That’s all I’m at liberty to say.” 

“Oh,” said Sora. That wasn’t really what he’d been hoping to hear, but he knew better than to push. 

“Well, there is a little mopping up to do,” said Dennis, half to himself. “We’ll have to send someone to collect that man who worked for them. What was his name again?” 

“Nico,” Sora murmured, half-hypnotized by the idea. 

“Ah, yes. Nico Smiley. Funny name,” said Dennis. “But we can’t have him relaying information back to his team. He’s going to have to go. Do you want to be the one to collect him?” 

Sora started to say, no, of course he didn’t want to do it, but what came out of his mouth was, “Sure, I can do it. When do you want it done?” 

“Before Sakaki and his friends reach Skyline City,” said Dennis. “The sooner the better, in fact.” 

“I’ll do it tonight, then,” said Sora. 

“Excellent,” said Dennis. “Send a message back to me when it’s done.” 

“Can do,” said Sora, at his most casual. “Anything else you want me for? Okay, then. I’m off.” 

He sauntered out of the room, nonchalant as any soldier with an easy task ahead of him and a commendation waiting for him when he got back. It wasn’t until he was safely back at his room that he let his emotions show again. 

What was he thinking? He was going to get into so much trouble for this, he knew, but what else could he do? As soon as he’d heard Dennis saying so casually that Nico needed to be _mopped up_ , he’d known there was only one course of action he could take. That was all any of these people would ever see Sora’s friend as: a stain on the earth who had to be _mopped up_ for their own benefit. Sora had been kidding himself when he’d thought they would see Nico’s real worth. All they would ever see him was a lesser species, something they could perhaps make use of, but of no more intrinsic value than a hammer or a radio transmitter. They would never see him as a _person_. 

Yuuya had gotten it right. Sora did hate bullies. He hated anyone who treated people as though there was something wrong with them for merely existing the way they did, and thanks to the Uprising, he had become one of them. Well, no more. 

Sora picked up his portal gun with sweaty hands and opened the passage. He marched through it, keeping his chin high and his back ramrod straight because focusing on that kept his jittery knees from doing what they really wanted to do, which was propel him as fast as they could to somewhere a lot safer. 

Nico jumped when Sora abruptly appeared in the lobby. 

“Sora!” he exclaimed. “What... how did...?” 

“No questions. Just listen,” Sora hissed. “I have to tell you something and it’s really important, okay?” 

Nico nodded, wide-eyed. 

“I’m... I’m not really with the LDS School,” said Sora. “My papers were faked. I’m really from the Uprising, and I was sent to spy on Yuuya. I don’t know why,” he added quickly, heading off Nico’s question. “The Professor - that’s our leader - he’s curious about Yuuya for some reason. He sent me here to spy on him and report back everything he did. I’m the one who planted that EMP device that wiped everyone’s cameras. The Uprising made me do it so they could frame Yuuya and drive him out of the city. We’ve got a base in Skyline City. I think our leaders are trying to round up a bunch of our enemies and lead them there so we can deal with them all at once, but I’m not really sure. I _am_ sure that the Uprising knows you’re Yuuya’s friend, and they’re afraid you’re going to help him somehow. They’re coming for you. They sent me to do it. I’m going to go back and tell them that you got scared, or maybe that you really believed that Yuuya was the one who did all those things, and you left. I’ll tell them I couldn’t find you, but you need to hide anyway. They’ll come looking for you, I’m sure of it, and if they catch you they’ll throw you in prison, or else make you into their slave, and I don’t want that.” He took a deep breath and said, “You need to run away.” 

Sora could see that Nico was working hard at processing all of this. At last, he said, “If you’re one of them, why are you telling me all of this? Aren’t you putting yourself in danger for me?” 

“I know,” said Sora. “I’m probably going to get into trouble if I let you escape, even if I make them think it wasn’t my fault. But they always taught me that normals are all bad, that they all hate us supers and only let us exist because they need us to protect them. That’s what the Uprising is all about. But you’ve never been like that. You helped us all because you’re our friend, and...” He paused as he drew up against the thought he’d been trying not to have ever since he came here. “And they’re wrong. Some normals really are awful. My parents were awful. I’d have died if I stayed with them, and the Uprising saved me so I figured the Uprising must have been right. But they were wrong about you, and I’m not going to stand by and let anything happen to you.” 

“Thank you,” said Nico. “That was very brave of you.” 

Sora shrugged, uneasy with the praise. He didn’t feel brave. He felt like a traitor. 

“It’s just something I felt like I had to do,” he said. 

“That’s the mark of a hero - knowing the right thing to do and acting on it,” said Nico. “You’re a good boy, Shiun’in Sora.” 

Something inside Sora cracked. The Uprising had made him feel like he was many things: accepted, powerful, justified, even right. They had never made him feel that he was _good_. And wasn’t that what he’d always wanted, deep down - for someone, anyone, to tell him that he really was a good boy? 

“Just get out of here as fast as you can,” he said gruffly. “Just _go_.” 

Nico nodded. He grabbed his briefcase and his phone, hit a few keys on his computer, and started for the door. Sora followed after him. 

“What’d you do?” he asked. 

“Wiped the computer,” he said. “One learns to prepare for these eventualities. Don’t worry, I always keep a backup file.” 

Nico really was very good at his job, Sora reflected. Even though he was clearly frightened, he knew what he ought to do. 

“Do you have somewhere safe to go?” Sora asked. 

“I have a few contacts,” he replied. “People who’ll give me a place to lay low for a while. Your friends will have to look long and hard before they can find me, and even then, they won’t get to me without a fight.” 

Sora wondered if the Uprising could really be described as his friends. Just now, he wasn’t too sure of anything. He _was_ sure that even if they’d been his friends before, they wouldn’t be if they knew what he was doing. 

“Good,” he said. “I’ll do what I can to confuse your trail.” 

“And then what?” Nico asked. 

Sora stopped to consider. His initial plan had been to send Nico off with a warning, perhaps lay a few false trails to throw any followers off, and then go back to his old home with only a slight blot on his conscience. Now that he’d had time to think it through, however, he realized that this was going to be impossible. Questions would be asked about how it was that Nico had escaped Sora so easily. They might even send him to track Nico down, and there was a limit to how many times he could “fail” to capture him. They might even assign him a team, someone to both assist him and watch to see why he was failing. If they ever figured it out - if they even _suspected_... 

_I’m going to have to disappear, too._

So this was it, then. In one impulsive moment, he’d thrown away his old life, his career, his status, his home. And yet, even as he thought about it, he knew that if he could rewind the last couple of hours and do it all again, he’d do it the same way. 

_I used to want to be a hero..._

He knew what he was going to do. He didn’t even have to think about it. Now that he was here, there really wasn’t any other direction he could continue. 

“I’m going to go to Skyline City,” he said, “and I’m going to try to help Yuuya.” 

* * *

A shadow flitted across the moon. 

Shun flapped his wings a few times, stabilizing himself. The air was always more unpredictable over a city than it was flying over open countryside, and this was the first time he’d ever been to Skyline City. Some people had to learn their way around a city at ground level; Shun had to figure out local air currents. 

At last, he located the landmark he’d been told to look for: a bell tower that looked like part of the local college. Shun banked, diving towards it, then veered off to one side to circle a few times while he planned his landing. Only when he was sure he could touch down safely and that there were no traps did he finally flutter down to land lightly on the railing. 

“Well, I’m here,” he said to the still night air. “Now what am I supposed to do?” 

In reply, there was a faint rustling. At first, Shun thought it was only the wind, but his feathers were supremely sensitive to shifts in the air currents, and the air up here was still. Curious, he looked over the edge of the railing. The ivy on the side of the building was moving on its own. Shun watched with a slight frown as a billow of leaves rolled up the side of the building, then rose up to the level of the bell tower cupola like a shaggy green bubble. Then the sides parted, and Yuuri stepped out onto the railing like a prince stepping down from his coach. 

“You could have taken the stairs,” was Shun’s greeting. 

“Now, what fun would that be?” said Yuuri. “There’s no point in having power if you don’t enjoy it.” 

“Not everything is about having fun,” Shun retorted. 

“Maybe not to you,” said Yuuri placidly. “Some of us enjoy more freedom.” 

Shun gritted his teeth. There had been a slight, mocking emphasis on the word _freedom_ that Shun couldn’t miss. Yuuri was reminding him that Ruri was still in prison, and by extension, Shun was a prisoner also. 

“Anyway, I did what you told me,” he said aloud. “Akaba’s on his way to the city, and he’s taking a squad with him.” 

“Excellent,” said Yuuri. “Who is he bringing with him?” 

“Me, of course,” Shun answered. “Yuuto. The Sakaki boy, the Entertainer’s son. A couple of others I didn’t recognize - friends of his, I think. The blue ninja. Someone called Sawatari. Oh, and a kid.” 

Yuuri raised an eyebrow. “Kid?” 

“That’s what I said. A little boy, looked to be about ten. Scrawny. Big eyes. Goes around the whole time looking like he just saw the monster under his bed.” 

“Oh, _that_ kid,” said Yuuri, beaming. “What an unexpected bonus! I was wondering how I was going to get my hands on him.” 

“Is there something special about him?” Shun asked suspiciously. He had a soft spot for children, and he found the idea of a maniac like Yuuri doing anything with that frightened little boy revolting. 

“He may not look like much, but he’s a powerful receptive telepath,” said Yuuri. “Not that it matters to you, of course, but I’m going to want someone like him later.” 

Shun tried to imagine how a receptive telepath would feel if the mind they were being exposed to was Yuuri’s. He grimaced. 

“I suppose you’re going to want me to bring him to you next?” he asked. Shun had been watching the dynamic around LDS long enough to know that if he tried it, that blue ninja would be on him like a thunderbolt. That might be for the best, since it would give him the excuse he needed to tell them what was going on. 

“Of course not,” Yuuri scoffed. “I have no doubt you’d botch the job. Anyway, I don’t need him yet. If anything, I want you to protect him and see to it that he comes to no harm.” 

“If you don’t want him harmed, just don’t harm him,” said Shun. 

“Idiot. Do you think the Uprising is the only game in this town?” Yuuri rolled his eyes. “Listen. The mayor of this city is one Jean-Michel Roget. Persuade your team to take an interest in him. Suggest that he may be an Uprising operative. I will make sure there are clues leading in the direction.” He smiled. “It will be fun to see what happens when you all actually meet.” 

“Frame Jean-Michel Roget. Fine,” said Shun. “Anything else?” 

“That should be all for now,” said Yuuri. “You can leave the rest to me.” 

“Thanks. That makes me feel so much better.” 

Yuuri giggled. “Go on, little bird. Fly away.” He tugged at one of Shun’s pinfeathers. “Be grateful I haven’t clipped your wings yet. If you weren’t so useful, I’d put you in a cage and make you sing.” 

Shun jerked his wing away. “Don’t touch me.” 

“You aren’t the one calling the shots here,” said Yuuri. “I’ll be watching you. You’ll receive a message when I want to see you again.” 

“I’m never going to want to see you again,” Shun muttered. 

“Oh, but you’re going to want to see your precious sister again,” said Yuuri, “so you’ll do as you’re told. Where will you be meeting the rest of your team?” 

“The Akaba guy is renting a building,” said Shun, and gave the address. “And I’d better get there soon, or they’ll start to wonder.” 

“Hmm... you’re probably right,” said Yuuri. “Fine. Go play with your new friends. I’ll send someone to check up on you later.” 

He vaulted over the railing, his jacket swirling behind him like a cloak. He skidded down the roof of the building, vaulted off, and landed in a cloud of leaves that bore him gently down to the ground. 

“Show-off,” Shun muttered. 

Well, he had his marching orders now. He spread his wings and set out to look for the rendezvous point. He would get settled in tonight, and tomorrow he’d start figuring out how to go about the next stage of his mission. 

_Whoever this Jean-Michel Roget is, I hope he turns out to be someone I don’t like._


	17. Skyline City

Yuuya hesitated a long time before making the call. He didn’t really want to do it - there was too much to say and not enough time to explain all of it. He didn’t even _know_ all of it. There was too much going on right now that he didn’t understand, and he was scared and confused and really just wanted to go home to his mother and let someone else fix the problem. That was the real issue here: for the first time since he’d begun his hero training, he was scared of what was going to happen next. Making this phone call would be allowing himself the chance to admit that he couldn’t go through with this, and he didn’t want to open himself to that temptation. 

But he couldn’t leave without saying goodbye. At last, he took a breath, steeled himself, and called home. 

“Yuuya?” 

“Hi, Mom. Listen, there’s something I need to talk to you about...” 

“Oh, honey, don’t worry,” she said, cutting him off. “I know whoever did those awful things on TV wasn’t you. You would never do a thing like that, and when I find out who did...” 

“No, wait, that’s not it! I mean...” Yuuya took a breath and started over. “I mean, that definitely wasn’t me on TV, but that isn’t what I called about. Not really.” 

“Is something wrong?” she asked. “Well, obviously something’s wrong, but... well, you know what I mean.” 

“It’s hero stuff,” said Yuuya. “I called to tell you that I’m going on a mission with Yuzu and Gon-chan and some other people. Akaba Reiji is leading it. We’re going to Skyline City for a while, and I don’t know when I’ll be back or when I’ll be able to get in touch with you.” 

“I see,” his mother replied. “Well, you know I’ll worry about you until you get back, but that’s just me being your mother. I know you’ll do a wonderful job. I want to hear all about it when you get back, so come home soon, safe and sound, all right?” 

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He hesitated a moment. This was the part he had been debating whether or not to say. He felt his mother deserved to know, but... 

She must have heard the hesitation in his voice. 

“Yuuya, what else aren’t you telling me?” she demanded, in the tones she’d used when he’d been a boy, and he’d been trying to avoid explaining to her how the window had gotten cracked or what had happened when he’d tried to cook an egg in the microwave. 

“Well, it’s like this,” said Yuuya. There was clearly no getting out of it now. “These guys we’re after... there’s, uh, evidence that they’re the ones who took Dad.” 

There was silence on the line, save for a quick, almost inaudible intake of breath. 

“I’m going to find out everything about them I can,” said Yuuya, stumbling to fill in the silence. “I’m going to find out who they are and why they took him. And if he’s... well, I’m going to find out where he’s been all this time, and if I can, I’ll bring him back.” 

“Oh, Yuuya,” said his mother softly. 

“So don’t worry about a thing,” said Yuuya. “I’m going to find Dad, and nothing is going to stop me!” 

“If anyone can do it, you can,” said his mother. “But I want you to make sure you come home safe, too. You know I miss your father with all my heart, and I’d give anything to have him back, but you’re my baby boy and you’re just as precious to me. I wouldn’t be able to bear it if something happened to you.” 

The word “too” hovered at the end of that sentence, inaudible but clearly there. Yuuya thought about his mother, all alone, surrounded by animals because the people she loved were gone. 

“Don’t you worry about me,” he said. “I’ve got a good team with me. Hey, have you met that Akaba Reiji guy? He’s a little scary. Was his dad that scary?” 

“Leo? He was really more your father’s friend than mine. I mostly remember him as... quiet. Thoughtful. He could be very intense, though, when he had a new idea he wanted to chase.” 

“Intense is a good word for Reiji,” said Yuuya. “Or cold as ice. I can’t imagine anyone putting anything past him. With him in charge, nothing can go wrong.” 

“You may be right,” his mother replied. “So, when are you leaving?” 

“First thing tomorrow,” Yuuya replied. “I’m getting packed while we talk.” 

“Well, I suppose I won’t be able to see you off,” she said, “but I’ll expect you to let me know the instant you’re ready to come home, so I can make a special welcome home dinner... for you and anyone you want to bring home with you.” 

Yuuya smiled a little. “That might end up being a lot of people.” 

“We’ll make room somehow,” she replied. “Good luck, Yuuya. Take care.” 

“Bye, Mom. Will do.” 

He put the phone back into his pocket, feeling as though he’d just run a gauntlet. 

“Well, that went better than I thought it might,” he said. 

He looked around the room. Was there anything he had overlooked? He didn’t think so. He’d said he was packing, but really, all he needed were a few basics, quickly dealt with. He had nothing else to do tonight but worry. 

_I hope I haven’t gotten Mom’s hopes up for nothing._ And yet, he couldn’t help but feel a burgeoning sense of excitement and hope. This was the closest he’d gotten in years to learning the truth about what had happened to his father. He nearly had all the answers. If he was lucky, then tomorrow he’d find the Uprising’s hideout, free his father, and his family could be together again in time for dinner. It was a nice thought. 

Just once, he hoped, everything might go according to plan. 

* * *

Yuzu lay in her bed staring at the ceiling and failing to fall asleep. She knew she ought to be sleeping. She was going to have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to travel to Skyline City, and while she knew that theoretically she could nap on the way there, in practice, sleeping in a car that would contain three teenaged boys, one of whom was driving, was not the best recipe for a restful sleep. Tomorrow she would be embarking on an important mission for serious stakes, and she’d need her wits about her, and yet all she could do was toss and turn... and worry. 

_I should have told him._

She had never kept secrets from Yuuya before. Well, of course, there had been things she hadn’t _told_ him, but that was different from keeping secrets from him. That had just been... well, girl things, or things that would embarrass him, or things that were just plain none of his business. He might be the person she liked most in the world, but that didn’t mean she was going to let him read her diary, especially some of the pages that concerned him. There had been that time after the school dance, when she’d come home late and starry-eyed, and written pages and pages about... well, anyway, that wasn’t the point. The point was, this was the first time she had ever known something that was important and relevant, something he probably needed to know, and she had kept it from him. 

_Would he even have believed me, though?_ After all, it was a pretty implausible story. She wasn’t even exactly sure what he would have tried to tell him. That she suspected that he was somehow a fragment of one of his father’s old enemies who had managed to split himself into four? Hero training prepared a person to believe a lot of strange things, but that was pushing the boundaries of the plausible. Wasn’t it? 

But a small part of her mind suggested that he might have believed her. After all, she had her father’s story and the clippings to back her up, and she suspected that Reiji would probably be able to supply some supporting data as well. There was also the fact that Yuuto existed, as did this Yuuri character Shingo had run into. There were clearly multiple people running around this city who looked exactly like Yuuya, enough to fool someone even at close range. That couldn’t just be a coincidence, could it? Anyway, she was Yuuya’s oldest friend. If she told him something, he would believe it because he trusted her. 

_And I trust him, too._ That couldn’t be allowed to change. No matter who Yuuya was or where he’d come from, she knew who he was now: a good leader, a good friend, and a genuinely good person. She couldn’t let herself worry about things that had happened before he was born. 

Except... except that on some level, all of this had to do with things that had happened before Yuuya was born. After all, if Zarc hadn’t gone on his rampage, Ray wouldn’t have died, Leo wouldn’t have gone into mourning, and none of this would have happened. If Zarc figured into the equation somewhere, shouldn’t Yuuya be told about it? 

She was still restlessly turning the question over in her mind when she finally dropped into a fitful sleep. 

She found herself walking through purple clouds. That immediately put her on edge, because her dreams weren’t usually like that. Normally she dreamed of places she knew: the city, or her home, or places around the various schools she’d gone to. Purple clouds were something entirely new. They had a certain not-thereness about them, as if they were merely visible because no one had bothered to fill in the foreground. Yuzu scowled at them. 

“All right,” she said. “Who’s in my head with me?” 

“Apologies,” said a familiar voice. The clouds began to thin, until Yuzu could just see a young woman’s silhouette in front of her. “I wasn’t entirely sure I could reach you this way.” 

“You’re Ray,” said Yuzu. 

“Yes,” the woman agreed. “I really am sorry for disturbing you, but there are things you need to know. Please accept that I am trying to help.” 

“Then please explain things to me,” said Yuzu. “I don’t understand what’s going on.” 

“But you know more than you knew before,” said Rei. 

She sat down on a curl of cloud, and Yuzu, after a moment of hesitation, sat down across from her. It felt oddly like sitting across from Mieru the first time Ray had spoken to her. This did not do anything to make her feel better. 

“I know some,” Yuzu admitted. “At least, I think I do.” 

“What do you think you know, then?” 

“I think... I think Yuuya and Zarc are connected somehow. I think when that blast went off, your power and his power and the machine’s power all sort of got jumbled up, and it blew him into pieces. I think Yuuya is one of those pieces, and so is Yuuto and probably also whoever that person is who was pretending to be him.” 

“That is a reasonably accurate summary,” said Ray. “I’m not altogether certain of the details myself, so that’s probably as good an explanation as any.” 

Yuzu felt a sinking feeling. “So it’s true, then?” 

“That your friend is part of Zarc? Yes,” said Ray. “So is Yuuto. There are two more out there you haven’t met, but I have.” 

Yuzu thought about that for a while. There was an obvious conclusion there, but it was one she didn’t want to think about, because once she had the thought she would never be able to un-think it. 

At last, she said, “And he wasn’t the only one who broke into pieces, was he?” 

Ray’s smile was tired. “I was hoping we could go a little longer before I had to tell you that.” 

“So that’s it, then,” said Yuzu. “You’re me.” 

“Sort of,” said Ray. “You are an extension of me. A part of me, plus a few extra bits you’ve picked up along the way. Perhaps you might say you’re my reincarnation. That’s why I’m going to do everything I can to protect you.” 

“Protect me from what?” Yuzu asked. “You’re just a ghost in my head. What can you protect me from?” 

Ray smiled. “I’m aware it’s not going to be easy. Mostly all I can do is tell you everything I know, and warn you when you’re getting close to trouble.” 

“Am I close to trouble, then?” Yuzu asked. 

“Yes,” said Ray. “Listen, Yuzu, I know it’s hard for you to hear this, but you need to be careful around your friend Yuuya. I know you care about him, but he’s part of what’s left of Zarc, and Zarc wants to be whole again.” 

“Yuuya would never do anything bad,” Yuzu insisted. “He’s the kindest, most selfless person I know.” 

“But Zarc wasn’t,” said Ray. “Right now, Yuuya has only a small part of Zarc in him, and it’s mostly dormant. But the other three pieces of him are out there, and someone is trying to bring them together. Once all four pieces are in close enough proximity, they will start to recombine into their original form. When that happens, your friend Yuuya will be gone for good. There will just be Zarc, and I don’t think you would like him.” 

Yuzu was taken aback. Such a thing hardly seemed possible, but if someone could split into four individual pieces, it made just as much sense that they could come together again. 

“That can really happen?” she asked. 

“Unless we stop it,” said Ray. “Remember, it was partly because of my power that everything ended up like this. That means we have the power to stop Zarc from rising again.” 

“Tell me what to do,” said Yuzu. 

“Find my other pieces,” said Ray. “One of them is in Skyline City. Her name is Rin. Start with her. She’s in trouble right now, so you’ll want to go help her anyway.” 

“Rin,” Yuzu repeated, fixing the name in her mind. “What’s happened to her?” 

“She’s being held against her will,” Ray explained. “Find her and free her, but _don’t_ let Yuuya get too close to his counterpart in that city. He’s already getting too friendly with Yuuto, or haven’t you noticed?” 

Yuzu frowned slightly. She had been worried from the start about how easily Yuuya had accepted his new lookalike. He’d been trained to be more suspicious of strange people who emerged from the shadows the way he had, but to look at them now, you’d think they’d known each other all their lives. It was as if some switch in Yuuya’s brain had flipped and now he thought he’d always had a twin brother... which, if what Ray was saying was true, was more or less true. 

_And there are two more out there somewhere... and it looks like at least one of them doesn’t like us._

“Is there anything else you can tell me?” Yuzu asked. “What about the other two girls? Where are they? Can they help?” 

“They’ve been taken by the Uprising already,” said Ray. “There isn’t much I can do for them. I can only talk to you like this because you spoke to Mieru and I could reach you through her. Now you know I’m here, so you have less mental resistance to me. To the others, I’m just... a fleeting impression, a sense of deja vu. I’m not really real to them the way I am to you. That’s why I’m counting on you to help me stop Zarc from coming back.” 

That was one thing Yuzu could understand. She was still having trouble absorbing a lot of this, but she and Ray seemed to be in agreement that Zarc could not be allowed to return, not if it meant losing Yuuya forever. Maybe that wasn’t Ray’s top priority, but it was Yuzu’s, and Yuzu was willing to work along with her if it meant they would both get what they wanted. 

“I’ll do everything I can,” she promised. 

“Thank you,” said Ray. “I know I can count on you.” She looked around, although as far as Yuzu could see, there was nothing about the clouds that was any different than before. “I had better go. It’s nearly dawn, and you’ll be wanting to wake up soon.” 

“Will I see you again?” Yuzu asked, not sure what she wanted the answer to be. 

“When you need me,” Ray promised. “Go now. Save Rin.” 

And then Yuzu was falling backwards through swirls of purple clouds, until with a jolt she found herself lying in her own bed with her alarm clock blaring. She turned it off. Then she simply sat silently and thought for a little while. 

_Well, that was weird._ Normally dreams faded for her within a few minutes of her awakening, but this one remained as clear as if it had happened in real life. Had it really been just a dream? Well, it would be easy enough to check. If she could find a girl in Skyline City who looked just like her and was named Rin, she’d know she was on to something. 

_Guess I know what I’m doing today._

* * *

A small car rolled up to the curb outside an office building. It was a very small car - built along the lines of an old Volkswagen beetle, but about half the usual size. Its body was basically red, but the hood was blue and the rear hatch was purple, and each fender was a different color from all the others - green, yellow, blue, orange - and the hood had a large smiling daisy painted on it. The front bumper had a large red clown nose, and the rear had what appeared to be a key of the old-fashioned wind-up sort. The radio antenna had a brightly colored pennant attached to it, and both front windows had horns of the squeeze-bulb variety mounted next to them. Naturally, the vehicle was attracting a certain amount of attention. By the time it had settled to a stop, a crowd of people had paused to stare at it, waiting to see what it would do next. 

The little car settled down, to the accompaniment of some sputtering and backfiring. Then, after a pause, the door opened, and a dozen or so helium balloons drifted out and floated away. They were followed by Yuzu, fully attired in her superhero getup and carrying a knapsack. She smiled and waved at the crowd. 

“Hi,” she said. “Could you all back up a little, please? We might need some space.” 

The crowd wordlessly backed up. Yuzu stepped away from the door and glanced back to gaze into the shadowy recesses of the car. 

There was another pause. Then a large multicolored beach ball bounced out and rolled down the street. Gongenzaka emerged after it, struggling a little to get through the narrow door. The crowd began to murmur a little at this; the car didn’t look big enough to hold him. At last, he made it out onto the sidewalk, and turned to address someone still inside the car. 

“It’s not that I’m not grateful for the ride,” he said, “but I wish you had something larger.” 

“Sorry,” said a voice. “The sillier it is, the better it works.” 

Another voice inside said, “Move out of the way - I want to get out of here.” 

Gongenzaka moved. He moved well out of the way, because the next thing out of the car was an ostrich in a sparkly pink tutu, which ran up the street and vanished around the corner. It was probably unfortunate that everyone turned to watch it, because it meant no one was there to watch Sawatari make his grand entrance. Or perhaps not - it was doubtful that anyone would have been very impressed. 

“I thought,” he said, in icy tones, “that you said you had transportation.” 

“I do have transportation,” said Yuuya amiably. “It got you here, didn’t it? Anyway, I thought you were going to take the train.” 

“Sawatari Shingo does not ride trains,” said Sawatari, with all the dignity he could muster. 

“Oh, come on,” said Yuzu, grabbing him by the arm and hauling him out of the way. “It wasn’t that bad, was it?” 

A few onlookers leaned forward a bit to try to get a look inside. Somehow, the inside of the car didn’t match the outside. Outside, it looked like it had about six cubic feet of space. Inside, it looked like the interior of a stretch limo, complete with fridge and minibar. 

A flock of doves fluttered out, and the crowd backed away to avoid them. As they did, Yuuto took advantage of the space to step into the open. 

“Well, I, for one, appreciate the ride,” he said. “Much better than the train, that’s for sure.” 

He stepped aside and waited. The audience held its breath, wondering what was going to happen next. Sounds of scuffling came from within the car. 

“Hang on,” said Yuuya. “I always have to do this before... ah, there it goes!” 

There was a clank as a large steel object was propelled out of the car and onto the sidewalk. It appeared to be a kitchen sink. 

“There we go,” said Yuuya, stepping out into the morning sunlight. “I don’t know why, but one of those always turns up when I do this.” He turned a sunny smile to the watching crowd. “Thanks for watching, ladies and gents! I hope you enjoyed the show!” 

He made a bow and a flourish. The audience, spellbound, began to applaud. Then, since nothing else appeared to be about to happen, they all wandered off again, still apparently unsure what they had just seen. 

“Well, that was fun,” said Yuuya. Birds, balloons, beach ball, sink, and car had all vanished into nothing once the audience took their eyes off them. “See, I told you I could get us all to Skyline City.” 

“I thought you were just going to rent a bus or something,” Sawatari grumbled. 

“Oh, shut up,” said Yuzu. “This was a lot nicer than a bus.” She turned a smile on Yuuya. “Thanks for giving us all a lift.” 

He grinned back. “No problem! It was actually kind of fun.” 

Yuuya looked around, taking in the scene. He had been to Skyline City a few times before, but he’d never really had the chance to explore it. Anyway, the last time he’d been here had been five years ago, when he’d been thirteen and preparing for admittance to Hero Academy. Before that, his only visit had been when he’d been very small and his father was still around. They had gone to see a traveling circus, a real one. Some circuses cheated and used supers in their performances - trapeze artists and tightrope-walkers with flying powers who never risked falling, lion tamers whose cats were actually just shapeshifted humans, fire-eaters who were naturally immune to flame. The best circuses, though, were the ones whose performers had no powers at all, and people flocked to them. Everyone loved a hero, but they also loved to see someone just like them who had learned to fly or breathe fire or throw knives without any super-talents at all. Yuuya still had the stuffed tiger his father had given him that night, tucked safely on a shelf in his room back home. 

That had been years ago, and mostly Yuuya had only seen the city at night, but he still had the vague sense that Skyline City had changed a lot since then. He’d picked up a few tidbits on the news that they had installed a new mayor a few years ago, and that he’d been making great strides in cleaning up the city, but Yuuya hadn’t really paid much attention. For one thing, he’d been mostly wrapped up in his hero training, and for another, Maiami City was his turf, and he didn’t have a lot of energy to spare for what went on in a city that wasn’t part of his jurisdiction. 

“It’s very clean, isn’t it?” Yuuto observed. He looked mildly uncomfortable, and no wonder. Shadow jumpers tended to naturally be happiest when they were operating in the dark, and there was nothing dark about this place. The buildings gleamed. Even the sidewalks looked as though they had just been poured yesterday. 

“I should have brought sunglasses,” said Gongenzaka, shading his eyes with one hand. “Still, the man Gongnezaka never complains!” 

Yuuya nodded. “Anyway, let’s find where Reiji wants us to meet. Everybody’s got directions, right?” 

Everyone nodded, except for Sawatari, who was still sulking. They consulted their directions and began to walk. 

It really was a splendid city, Yuuya thought. All the buildings looked clean and new. The streets were in good repair and free of trash and debris. The people all looked happy and prosperous. Nowhere did Yuuya see any of the usual little things he’d expect to see even in the best regulated cities - no graffiti, no “Going Out of Business” signs, not even any gum on the sidewalks. It was slightly unreal, and a little disturbing. 

Yuuto seemed to feel it too. 

“I don’t like this place,” he said. “Something’s not right here. How do you get a city to look like this?” 

Yuuya glanced at Yuzu. “Any guesses?” 

“Let me try...” said Yuzu. She slipped on her headphones and chose a song. After listening intently for a moment, she looked around the city again with an intent gaze. 

“There,” she said at last, pointing at something on the eaves of one of the buildings. “That thing there.” 

Yuuya looked up. If Yuzu hadn’t pointed it out to him, he would have taken it for some ordinary, innocent feature - a security camera, a motion sensor, perhaps even some sort of lighting device. It looked like nothing more than a blue glass dome, like something you’d expect to see on top of an old-fashioned police car, affixed to the underside of the eaves. He couldn’t see through the glass well enough to make out any further details, but now that he was looking for them, he thought he could see other such domes scattered around the city. 

“What is it?” he asked. 

Yuzu shrugged. “Search me. I just know it’s doing something, and it’s weird, whatever it is. It’s not an ordinary camera, I know that much.” 

“Right,” said Yuuya. “No messing with the weird blue bubbles, then.” 

They kept walking. Yuuya got the impression that Reiji had tried to find a place in a moderately run-down but still socially acceptable part of the city, and hadn’t had much luck. The place they ended up in was as neat and sparkling as the rest of the city, merely a little lower in grandeur. The buildings were every bit as polished, merely a few floors smaller and a few feet narrower. The shops carried less pricey merchandise, but they were every bit as brightly illuminated and tastefully decorated. It was, Yuuya thought, less like being in a real city and more like being in some sort of scaled-down theme park version of a city. He had the almost irresistible urge to create some balloons and streamers to complete the effect. 

_It’s not natural. Every city has rough parts of town somewhere..._

At last, they reached the building Reiji had rented for them. They were just approaching the front door when it opened all on its down. Tsukikage peered out at them. 

“Good, you’re right on time,” he said, stepping aside to let them in. “Did you have any trouble getting here?” 

“I had to ride in a _clown car_!” Shingo complained. 

Tsukikage continued to regard him mildly. 

“Did it have any trouble getting here?” he asked. 

“Everything was fine,” said Yuuya. “No sweat. Who else is here?” 

“Mr. Akaba, his brother and I arrived last night,” said Tsukikage, ushering them all inside. “We have been making the place comfortable.” There was respect in his tone as he added. “It’s the first time I’ve seen him use his powers extensively. He’s very impressive.” 

“What about Kurosaki? Is he here yet?” Yuuto asked, sudden worry in his voice. 

“He arrived very early this morning,” said Tsukikage. “He’s been napping in his room since then. Would you like me to let him know you’ve arrived?” 

“No, let him sleep,” said Yuuto, relaxing again. “I’m sure he’s tired after flying all night.” 

“Then I will let Mr. Akaba know you’re here,” said Tsukikage. “There are stairs through that door there. You will find rooms prepared for you on the second floor. Just take any one that isn’t occupied.” 

“Here we go again,” said Yuuya. He was thinking of how, just a few weeks ago, he and his friends had moved into the You Show building. He was a lot less excited for this change of rooms. He did not like this city with its too-clean streets and too-bright lights. Still, he told himself, it was only temporary. 

Once he’d settled in, as much as he could with his limited amount of luggage, he went to explore the downstairs. It was all pretty minimal, clearly meant to be a place to stash their things and not much else. There was a kitchen, though, and Yuuya found Reiji there, communing with the coffee maker. Reira was sipping a mug of chocolate milk with an intensity that suggested this was his entire mission in coming to this city. 

“Ahh, good, you’re here,” said Reiji. “Coffee?” 

“Yes, please,” said Yuuya. He dropped into one of the plastic chairs that encircled a folding table in the middle of the room. Reira glanced briefly up at him before turning his attention back to sipping his milk. It was not an unfriendly gaze, merely an evaluating one. It was too mature for a child of Reira’s apparent age, and Yuuya wondered what was going on inside the kid’s head. 

With a clatter of cups and saucers, Reiji produced two steaming cups of coffee and set one in front of Yuuya before settling down next to his brother. Yuuya took a cautious sip, but it turned out to be excellent coffee, better than he’d expected to be served, given his rank on this mission. 

“So, what’s our game plan?” he asked. 

“Today, we gather information,” said Reiji. “I will be paying some visits to the other schools in this city, ostensibly because I am concerned my brother would attract too much attention from the other students at LDS, him being the brother of the headmaster. Actually I will be sounding them out to see if they have had any trouble with disappearing students, and also allowing Reira to test the area psychically. Tsukikage will accompany us, both as protection and in his capacity as a spy. He’ll be able to get into and out of places even I wouldn’t be allowed.” 

Yuuya nodded. “What about the rest of us?” 

“Scout around. Get to know the layout of the city. Keep your eyes peeled for anything that looks suspicious.” Reiji adjusted his glasses and gave Yuuya a serious look. “I’m afraid I am rather taking advantage of your current predicament. People here may recognize you from yesterday’s events. If someone wearing your likeness has been committing crimes, people may accuse you of them. If they do, I want to hear about it. It is also possible that a criminal element may try to recruit you. I want to know about that, too.” 

“I’m not very good at playing a villain,” Yuuya objected. 

Reiji gave him a flat look. “You’re the Entertainer, aren’t you? Put on an act. I’m sure you can play a villain if you put your mind to it.” 

Yuuya grimaced but refrained from commenting. He supposed he _could_ play a villain if he had to. He didn’t think he could manage to be sinister and menacing, but he could probably just about do an over-the-top, mustache-twirling camp villain if circumstances demanded. 

“I’ll give it a whirl,” he promised. 

“Do that,” said Reiji. “Above all, exercise common sense. This is meant to be a covert mission. We are here right now to gather information. If you learn something, if you see something, don’t go running off and trying to deal with it yourself. Come back and report, and we will decide as a team what to do about it... Did you have something to add, Tsukikage?” 

“No, sir,” said Tsukikage, lowering his gaze. Yuuya got the distinct sense that there was something between these two that he had missed, and wondered what it was. He would have to try to find out later. Not that he was the type to pry, but his teachers had lectured him frequently about the duty of a team leader: it was part of his responsibility to know what was going on with his teammates, before emotional weaknesses could be exploited or emotional fractures could divide the team. 

“Very well,” said Reiji. He turned his attention back to Yuuya. “You are responsible for your team - which is to say, Miss Hiiragi and Mr. Gongenzaka. I will leave it up to you to deploy them in whatever manner you deem most suitable. I will also be placing Mr. Sawatari temporarily under your command, though frankly I don’t expect him to respect your authority particularly. Just try to keep him out of trouble.” 

“That’s a tall order.” 

“I know, but do your best,” said Reiji. “I don’t want him wandering around by himself, and he’s feeling chastened at the moment because of how he slandered you before, so he’s more likely to listen to you, if only to prove what a changed man he is. That won’t last long, though, so don’t push him too hard and make the most of it while it lasts.” 

Yuuya nodded and resigned himself to his fate. “What about Yuuto and Kurosaki? Are they part of my team, too?” 

“I believe they are most accustomed to working together as a duo,” said Reiji. “At the moment, I think it would be best to let them chart their own course. They have some experience in tracking the movements of the Uprising, and I want to pursue our enemies from as many different angles as possible. I will move in my way, you will move in your way, and our friends from Heartland will move in their way. My hope is that amongst the lot of us, we will find some clue.” 

“What happens if we don’t?” Yuuya asked. 

“Then,” said Reiji, “I will be moved to take drastic measures. But let us hope it won’t come to that. I would prefer to operate within strictly legal channels if at all possible.” 

Yuuya nodded. Technically, heroes could get away with bending a lot of laws, even outright breaking them, as long as they could prove afterwards that it had been the best way to protect the populace at the time, but it was still a risky move. If you broke all those laws and the criminal still got away with it (or turned out not to have existed in the first place), or if whatever you did ended up causing even more damage than just letting the villain go unchecked, then you were subject to all sorts of legal trouble. Depending on the severity of whatever you’d done, you could be handed stiff fines, have your hero license suspended, lose it altogether, or even do actual prison time. Reiji was probably wise to collect as much information as he could before taking his “drastic measures”. Yuuya wondered what sort of thing he had in mind. 

“Anything you can tell me before we get started?” Yuuya asked. “I’ve only been here a couple of times before. Weird place, isn’t it?” 

“Yes. It is,” said Reiji. He sounded disapproving and mildly worried. “There are machines in this city whose purpose I have yet to discern. They aren’t cameras or listening devices, I know that much. I just can’t quite get a grip on what they _are_ for, and that worries me. I’m usually better with machines than that. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that if I push too hard, I’ll wind up alerting whoever is controlling them, and...” 

“And you don’t want to draw attention, got it,” said Yuuya. “So I guess we should all just try to avoid them if we can.” 

“I’m not sure it’s possible,” said Reiji. “I’ve been looking around since last night, and the blasted things are everywhere. For now, I suggest you just pretend you don’t notice them, and try not to damage them, at least until I can figure out what they _are_.” 

He sounded deeply annoyed. Clearly his pride had been hurt by his failure to identify these things, whatever they were. He decided to drop the subject. 

“In that case,” he said, “I’ll talk to my team over breakfast and we’ll go on patrol.” 

“Good,” said Reiji, relaxing a little again. “I look forward to hearing what you find.” 

“What if I don’t find anything?” Yuuya asked. 

Reiji’s smile was thin as the edge of a knife. “Then I suppose it was a waste of time bringing you here, wasn’t it?” 

Yuuya didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. Reiji had made his point, and Yuuya made up his mind that he and his team were going to find _something_ when they went on patrol today. Whatever the Uprising decided to throw at him, it couldn’t be any scarier than being smiled at by Reiji. 

* * *

Jean-Michel Roget sat in his personal study, contemplating a chess board. 

He had always liked chess. When he’d been a boy, he’d wanted to be a professional player. He’d been regularly beating adults back then, and there seemed to him no reason why he shouldn’t go on doing so for the rest of his life. It had only been when his powers had started coming in, opening up worlds of new possibilities for him, that he had realized that there was more to life than chessboards. People, for instance. Chessmen were so _easy_ to predict. A bishop was a bishop, and it would only move in diagonal lines, and would never step off of its designated colored tiles. A bishop sitting on a black square would never step onto a white one no matter what the provocation, nor would it start moving in straight lines like a rook or jump over the other pieces like a knight. A person, however, had a far wider number of potential moves, and there was real fun in learning how to play them successfully. 

One of those people knocked on his door. 

“Who is it?” 

“It’s me, sir. May I come in? I have news.” 

Roget smiled. Now here was a piece with real value. He was glad someone had been bright enough to capture it, and even gladder that they had decided to let him play with it instead of keeping it for himself. 

“Please do,” he said, and swivelled his chair around to face the door. 

This particular playing piece stepped through the door and bowed. 

“Sir,” he said, “Akaba Reiji and his team have arrived in the city.” 

“So soon?” Roget murmured. “My, my, he was quicker off the mark than I’d expected. Well, no matter. Who did he bring with him?” 

“I’ve made a list, sir.” He held out a folded sheet of paper in both hands, like an offering. Roget took it and unfolded it with a slight nod of approval. Not only was his new acquisition a keen worker, he had excellent penmanship. A real find, this one. Right now, he was merely cooperating because the Uprising had filled his head with promises of glory and freedom, but Roget hoped that with a little care, he could win his true loyalty. 

“Thank you very much,” said Roget, as he ran his eye over the list. Not a very large team, he observed. Young Reiji was probably relying on stealth rather than force, hoping he could operate in this city without being noticed. Well, so much for that. And... he’d brought the girl. That was a real stroke of luck. Was it possible that he didn’t know the value of what he had? Probably, but Roget knew. 

“Do you have any further orders, sir?” his helper asked, eyes bright with something like fanaticism. 

“Continue to shadow them,” said Roget. “I need to think a while about how best to deal with them. I am particularly interested in the girl, but the Sakaki boy and the Akaba brothers may also have some value. I will assign a squad to you. If you can arrange for the group to lose track of each other...” 

“Understood.” The soldier bowed again, straightened, and marched out of the room. Roget fancied he could almost hear the trumpets and drum rolls of a distant army. Roget smiled. 

_Quite the young firebrand, that one. It will be interesting to see how far he gets before the idealism wears off._

But that would not be soon, not if Roget had anything to say about it. Smiling, he turned his attention back to his chessboard. 

“Now, what’s my next move...” 

* * *

“Well, that sure didn’t go according to plan.” 

“Not helping, Yaiba,” said Hokuto. 

Yaiba, who had been pacing the floor of his cell, flung himself back onto the ground. 

“Well, this really sucks,” he said, summing up everyone’s feelings nicely. 

“It was worth a try,” said Masumi with a weak smile. 

“It would have worked if that bastard with the snares hadn’t showed up,” said Yaiba. “I still want to know where that girl jumped out from. I could have sworn there was nobody in that room when we came in.” 

“This is all because of me,” Hokuto moaned. “You guys wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t been trying to protect me. I let you down.” 

“You didn’t let us down,” said Masumi. “I’m the one who ran my mouth in front of Selena. If I’d just kept quiet, she wouldn’t have laid a trap for us.” 

“Yeah, but I’m supposed to be the psychic,” said Hokuto. “What am I good for if I can’t warn you guys about this kind of thing? But I could have sworn the signs were telling us it would be okay...” 

“Well, maybe it will,” said Masumi. “We don’t know what’s going to happen next. Maybe we’ll find some way to escape.” 

The three of them looked around. There did not seem to be any way to escape. The big man with the wire snares had rounded up a few friends and marched them down to this cell - possibly the same one they’d been in last time. Whatever it was, it did not look particularly escapable. 

“What do you think they’re going to do to us?” Yaiba asked. 

Masumi shrugged. “Probably send us to the work camps, same as they do the other people they capture. Maybe we can escape once we’re there.” 

There was another one of those contemplative silences. The unspoken sense seemed to be that if such places were easy to escape, someone would have made it home to tell the tale by now. 

“This really sucks,” said Yaiba again. No one argued with him. 

There was another long silence. After a while, Hokuto said, “Hey, Masumi?” 

“Yes?” she said uncertainly. 

“You know, before all this started...” he said, staring at the floor and not at her, “I was thinking I would maybe try asking if you wanted to, I don’t know, maybe go see a movie or something.” 

She felt her face go warm. She’d been wondering if he was leading up to something like that, but all the same... 

“When we get out of here,” she said, “we’ll see a movie. I promise.” 

He looked up sharply, expression stunned. Yaiba made a gagging noise, and both she and Hokuto turned to glare at him. He grinned, unrepentant. 

“You guys have lousy timing,” he said. 

“Yeah, I guess we do,” Hokuto admitted. He went back to trailing his fingertip over the floor. “Some fortune teller I am. Can’t even pick the right moment to tell a girl I like her.” 

Masumi smiled a little in spite of herself. “It wasn’t a bad moment. Now I just have another good reason to find some way of getting us all out of here.” 

“May I be of some assistance?” asked a new voice. 

Everyone looked up. Without any of them noticing, a man had stepped into the hallway in front of them. He appeared to be in his forties, give or take a few years, with a pleasant if careworn face. He was dressed in a suit that might have been red once, but was now faded and patched. A battered top hat was perched on his head at an angle that gave it an air of jauntiness despite its poor condition. Everyone gaped at him. 

“I just happened to be passing through,” he went on, “and I overheard you talking. I hope you’ll forgive me for intruding on a private conversation.” 

“That’s all right,” said Masumi, finding her voice at last. “Can you really help us get out of here?” 

“It would be my pleasure,” said Sakaki Yuushou.


	18. The Blue Blur

Masumi had always prided herself on being cool and collected. No matter what the situation, she imagined that she would be able to face it with aplomb. So far, she had held up through being kidnapped, captured, and thrown in prison. All the same, she was having a very hard time handling this. 

“You’re the Entertainer,” she said. “Sakaki Yuushou. You’re supposed to be dead.” 

His smile became slightly wry. 

“Yes, I do hear that a lot,” he said, as he knelt down to put himself at eye level with the lock. “I can’t imagine how these rumors get about. No questions now; I need all my wits if I’m going to open this thing without tripping the alarm.” 

Masumi shut up. Inside, she might be bursting with questions, but her curiosity was going to have to take a backseat to getting out of this cell. 

_Well, he is one of the best heroes Japan ever had. If anyone could get us out of this..._

He fished in the pockets of his battered tailcoat and took out a complex tool which nevertheless had a certain homebrewed quality about it, as though it had been hammered and welded together out of bits of scrap iron. In spite of that, it got the job done. A moment of quiet tinkering, then a clank, and the door swung smoothly open. 

“Out,” Yuushou ordered, emphasizing his point with a wave of his hand. 

Masumi vaulted to her feet and began hauling Hokuto up after her. Yaiba, the most athletic of the three, was already making a dash for the exit. As soon as all three of them were out, Yuushou closed the door and locked it again behind them. 

“That’ll leave them wondering,” he said, as he beckoned them to follow him down the corridor. 

“Won’t there be security cameras?” Masumi asked him. 

He gave her a cryptic smile. “Oh, the cameras down here are a bit unreliable. They go down periodically - no one has been able to figure out why yet.” 

_How long,_ Masumi wondered, as she jogged to keep up with her rescuer, _Has this man been sneaking around down here?_ The answer she gave herself was, _Probably about ten years._

They rounded a corner and reached what looked like a perfectly ordinary patch of hallway. Nevertheless, it seemed to hold some significance for Yuushou. He examined the walls and floor minutely, as though checking for some barely visible landmarks. 

“Ahh, here we are,” he said at last. “All right, you three, move a little closer together... that’s right. Perfect, just stay there a moment.” 

“What are we doing?” Hokuto asked. 

“Trying not to be noticed,” said Yuushou, searching his pockets again. “There’s a dead spot in this hallway where transmissions are hard to follow... or at least, there was the last time I was here. As long as we depart from the right spot, the Uprising won’t be able to follow us. Fingers crossed, everyone.” 

He took out a device, which looked much like the one used to bring Masumi and her friends through to this world. Unlike that one, the one in Yuushou’s hand looked like it had seen better days. It was scuffed and dented, and had apparently had a few parts replaced. Nevertheless, when he activated it, the portal opened. 

“Hurry,” said Yuushou, but Masumi didn’t need to be told twice. She grabbed Haruto with one hand and Yaiba with the other and dragged them towards the opening, with Yuushou following close behind them. A moment later, she was stepping out onto a grassy plain, lit by moonlight. She could see trees in the distance, and outcroppings of rock, and something off to her right glittered in a way that suggested there was a lake or river nearby. It was beautiful, and also entirely unfamiliar. 

“Are we... home?” asked Hokuto uncertainly. 

Yuushou seemed to sag a little. Masumi thought, _No, of course this isn’t home. If he could get us home, he’d have gotten himself home a long time ago._

“I’m sorry,” he said. “This is not your world. But it is a reasonably safe place where you can all rest and decide what you’re going to do from here. I may have only offered you a larger prison cell, but...” 

“No, this is good,” said Yaiba quickly. “Thanks. I mean it.” 

“Yes, thank you,” Masumi agreed. “Wherever this is, it’s better than being in that dungeon.” 

“But where _is_ it?” asked Hokuto. He had that inward look he got when he was putting his extrasensory perception to work. “It’s not home, but it’s not the place we were, either.” 

“Well, you know they call their compound the Dark Side, yes?” said Yuushou. “And the city where they send their rulers and their slaves is called the Light Side.” He produced a coin in the manner of a conjurer, holding up an empty hand, giving it a flip, and showing a shiny silver disc between forefinger and thumb. “They say every coin has two sides, don’t they? But anyone who’s paying attention knows that a coin has _three_ sides.” He flipped the coin with his thumb, sent it spinning up into the moonlight, and caught it again. He held up his hands to show it had vanished once more. “So my friends and I, we call this place the Edge.” 

Masumi smiled a little in spite of herself. A part of her felt that things really couldn’t be too bad if someone had the energy to do coin tricks. 

“So this is where you’ve been hiding all these years,” she said, as they began walking across the grass. 

“More or less, more or less,” said Yuushou. “I’ll tell you the whole story once we get somewhere a little more secure, but here’s the short version. I spent a year or so imprisoned by Akaba Leo. Eventually I was able to steal one of those portal devices and escape. Unfortunately, Leo had been bright enough to lock the machine against my biometrics - in other words, he programmed it in such a way that it could recognize me and refuse to let me go back to my own world. Fortunately, I don’t think he realized the Edge existed until I found it... or maybe he found it and assumed I wouldn’t be able to survive here on my own. Maybe he didn’t care if I wanted to wander alone in an empty wasteland. Maybe he thought this was as good a prison as any. At any rate, I settled here, I stole supplies from the Light Side, and after a while, well...” 

They crested a small rise. From there, Masumi could see trails of smoke, the tops of roofs, the edge of a fence. Apparently, the wilderness wasn’t so barren after all. 

“I found some friends,” Yuushou concluded. 

“Who are they?” Hokuto asked. 

“Other people who are opposed to the Uprising,” said Yuushou. “Some of them are normals I rescued from the slavers in the Light Side. Others are people who became disillusioned with the Uprising, or who never really agreed with them in the first place. I’m assuming you three fall into one of the latter two categories.” 

Yaiba nodded. “They kidnapped us. We were pretty much pretending to work for them so we could find out all about them and then go home and tell everybody... only it didn’t really work so well.” 

Yuushou patted his shoulder. “Don’t feel bad about yourselves. The Uprising is more dangerous than you might realize, and better at lying. There are deceptions wrapped in deceptions in that place, and you’d need access to some pretty specialized knowledge to unravel it all.” 

“But you have,” said Hokuto, regarding him thoughtfully. 

“Well, I’ve had ten years to study the problem,” said Yuushou, “and I had a bit of inside information to start with. Even so, it took me a long time to come to terms with... well, everything.” 

Masumi nodded. She could understand that, she thought. He and Leo had been close friends, once upon a time. It had to be hard, coming to terms with the fact that your old best friend was raising an army to conquer the universe. 

“Anyway,” said Yuushou, with a return of his smile, “I hope you’ll be comfortable here. We’ve had time to make it rather nice. Relax here a while, have something to eat if you like, find yourselves somewhere to get your heads down, and I’ll explain everything in the morning. Everything I can, anyway.” 

Everyone agreed to this plan. There did not, at the moment, seem to be many other options. Yuushou was a legendary hero, and probably as trustworthy as anyone they were ever likely to meet. He had gotten them out of prison, and that was a good start as far as proving his motives. Anyway, it had been a long day, Masumi was tired and hungry, and the smoke wafting on the breeze suggested that food was being cooked somewhere nearby. Food, water, shelter, companions - with these things, they could just possibly be safe. 

They drew nearer to the little makeshift village. Masumi could see that it _was_ a village, with several surprisingly snug-looking little houses gathered around a central well. Other buildings might have been workshops or supply stores, and one at the far end of the town was probably passed for a city hall. They were close enough now that she could see people moving around, too. Some of them looked like workers, hauling their finished products to the supply sheds or carrying their tools home at the end of their labors. A woman was fetching water from the well, and a couple of boys were sparring on the green, laughing together every time one of them scored a hit. Everything looked relaxed and happy, a far cry from the military seriousness of the Uprising’s camp. 

Yuushou paused just outside the gates. They were open just now, and a sign hung above the opening, swinging gently in the breeze. There didn’t seem to be any reason not to continue, but Yuushou waited anyway. Sure enough, someone inside the fence called out, “Who goes there? State your business!” 

“It’s Yuushou,” he called back. “I’ve brought some new recruits. May we come in?” 

Whoever was on the other side of the fence called into the camp, “It’s all right - it’s just Sensei coming home.” More loudly, he added, “You may enter!” 

Yuushou smiled at his companions. “Well, this is it - your new home away from home. Come and make your grand entrance.” 

He began walking again, and Hokuto and Yaiba followed him. Masumi lingered just a moment longer, contemplating the sign above the gates. 

“Welcome,” it read, “to Camp Big Top.” 

* * *

“Now, remember,” Reiji was telling them, “this is a covert mission.” 

“I know, I know,” said Yuuya. He was itching to get on with it, and being forced to stand around being lectured by Reiji was not his idea of a productive use of his time. 

“I’ve disabled all your monitoring equipment,” Reiji went on, “so try not to get into any sort of trouble that would require it to back you up.” 

“Why did you disable it?” Yuzu asked. “Why not just turn off the broadcast and keep recording?” 

“Because it’s too easy to hack,” said Reiji. “Believe me, I could tune into whatever any registered hero in this city was doing right now, if I cared to, no matter how good they think their protection is. I don’t want any of our enemies knowing where any of us are going. In the event that there is trouble over this, I will take the blame.” 

“Stop fussing,” said Shingo, waving his hand dismissively. “We’re all trained heroes here. We know what we’re doing.” 

Reiji fixed him with a cold glare, but all he said was, “Fine. Go do your job, then. And _stay out of trouble._.” 

Yuuya grabbed Shingo by the collar. “C’mon, buddy. Let’s go patrol.” 

The team more or less dragged Shingo out of the building. The last thing Yuuya saw as he left the base was Reiji stalking away, his scarf flapping dramatically behind him, and Reira peeking over his shoulder as he followed his big brother. 

“Okay,” said Yuuya, as they strolled down the street together, “I was looking at a map of the city last night, trying to work out how best to cover it. I think the best way would be for us to start with the main shopping district, and then cut through downtown and start ” 

Shingo glared. “Who put you in charge?” 

“Reiji did,” Yuuya replied. “I mean, he’s the one who’s running this operation, and he said I should lead my team.” 

“Well, I’m not part of your team, so don’t go telling me what to do,” said Shingo. “I work alone, you got that?” 

“But Reiji said...” 

“I don’t care what he said,” Shingo cut in loftily. “I work alone. Always have, always will. I said I would help with this mission, and I will, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to start taking orders from you.” 

“But if you go off patrolling by yourself, they might catch you again,” Yuuya pointed out. 

Wrong thing to say. Sawatari drew himself up to his full height. “They won’t get me a second time,” he boasted. “I know what to expect now. If they think they can get me a second time, well, they just have another think coming!” 

With that, he turned and strolled off down a side street. 

“Hey, wait!” Yuuya called. He took a few steps after him, but Gongenzaka caught him and gently tugged him back. 

“Never mind,” he told him. “There’s just no talking to some people. Just tell Reiji what’s up and get on with doing your job.” 

Yuuya nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” All the same, he felt a little guilty. On the one hand, he was supposed to be in charge here, and it didn’t reflect well on him that he’d lost a teammate so quickly. On the other hand, he was actually a little relieved. He hadn’t actually been looking forward to working with a hothead like Shingo when he’d already had a perfectly good team of people he trusted. Braced for a tongue-lashing, he phoned Reiji to let him know what had happened. 

“It figures,” was Reiji’s only comment. “Well, if he’s determined to be an idiot, I suppose we have to let him. Just call and check on him every so often to make sure he hasn’t gotten himself into something he can’t get out of again.” 

“Will do,” said Yuuya, and signed off. “Okay, guys, looks like we’re patrolling minus Shingo today.” 

“Can’t say I’m sorry,” said Yuzu, which made him feel a little better. At least he wasn’t the only one relieved not to have to deal with him. 

_Though I do kind of feel sorry for the guy. This job is so much more fun when you’re working as a team... Doesn’t he have any friends at all?_

Fleetingly, he wondered where Yuuto and his friend were, and what they were doing now. He found himself wishing that they and not Shingo had been assigned to his team. He had been starting to like Yuuto. There was just something about him that made having him around feel... natural, as if they had always been meant to be part of a team... 

Well, there was no point in worrying about it now. Right now it was time to patrol, so he would patrol. He and his friends ambled down the street, taking in the sights, watching the people going about their business, and occasionally intercepting some interested looks. Yuuya hoped they were just curious about seeing some unfamiliar heroes in town (or maybe just fascinated by the holographic sparkles on Yuzu’s costume) and not speculating about whether he really was a villain. 

“I’m never going to get used to this place,” said Gongenzaka. He glared at the scenery as though it had personally offended him. 

Yuuya knew what his friend meant. The city was no less unsettling by full daylight than it had been in the light of sunrise. In fact, it was somehow even more unnerving now that all the people were out, filling the streets with their bustle. Yuuya thought that Maiami was, by and large, a nice city full of basically nice people. Even so, if you stayed out in the street long enough, you’d eventually run into signs of discord: people arguing, parents scolding their children, teenagers showing off by acting tough, the occasional young super flaunting their powers. Sometimes you’d get homeless people and panhandlers and rowdy drunks. Sometimes you even got genuine crooks. This city, though, had something eerily placid about it. No children cried. No businessmen raised their voices as they tried to hash out a deal. Not a single voice rose above a pleasant murmur. 

_It’s like they’re all drugged or something..._ Once again, his gaze strayed to the odd little blue orbs that seemed to be everywhere. 

“I’m starting to wonder if there was really any point in going on patrol,” said Yuuya. “I can’t imagine anyone daring to commit a crime here, can you?” 

“Hmm,” said Yuzu. She looked around a bit, then sighted a pleasant-looking motherly woman waiting at a bus stop and walked over to her. “Excuse me, ma’am, but we’re new in town. Can you tell us a little about what it’s like here?” 

“Oh, it’s a lovely place. I’m sure you’re going to like it,” said the woman, smiling. “It’s so peaceful here - not like some places, where something unpleasant is happening all the time.” 

“So there’s no crime here at all?” Yuzu asked. 

“Well, hardly any,” the woman admitted. “Never very much. We have our own resident hero, you know. Have you seen her yet?” 

“No, we just got here a few hours ago,” said Yuzu. “What’s she like?” 

“Oh, she’s just the sweetest little thing,” the woman gushed. “She’s always so charming in her TV interviews. But don’t get the wrong idea - she’s very strong. She’s a weather manipulator. The Wind Witch, she’s called. Ever since she made her debut, the city has been like a paradise.” 

“I see,” said Yuzu. “Well, thanks for telling us. That makes me feel a lot better about being here.” 

She wandered back to rejoin her friends. 

“That was interesting,” she said. 

“We definitely need to find out more about this Wind Witch person,” said Yuuya. “I wonder why I’ve never heard of her?” 

“The lady made it sound like she’s a recent addition,” Yuzu replied. “She probably showed up while we were all still busy with school. You do sort of lose touch with the world when you’re living on an island.” 

Yuuya nodded in reluctant agreement. There was something to be said for putting a school on an island in the middle of the ocean - it cut down on distractions, for one thing. It had probably kept them safe from the Uprising, since “They couldn’t hack it and ran away,” would be harder to believe on an isolated island miles from anywhere. On the other hand, it did tend to create the illusion that nothing existed in the world but your studies. 

_I’m going to have to start doing some research,_ Yuuya thought guiltily, knowing that he’d probably forget again before he got home. 

“Well, Reiji probably already knows about her, but we’ll tell him again anyway,” said Yuuya. He hadn’t known the man long, but he had already formed the impression that Reiji knew pretty much everything that was going on, and if he he didn’t, he knew how to find out. 

“Do you think she’s really the reason why this city is so quiet?” Gongenzaka wondered. “This is a big city. It seems like a lot to believe that just one hero could manage it all, no matter how powerful they are.” 

“Well, maybe they have more?” Yuuya said. “You know, some small-timers who don’t get as much credit. It would be pretty strange for a city this big to only have one major superpower in it.” 

“If that’s it,” said Gongenzaka, “it’s really not fair that they give all the credit to this Wind Witch person.” 

“No kidding,” Yuuya agreed. 

They moved onward. Their route took them through the main part of town and towards the waterfront. There were docks there, with a few boats bobbing gently in the waves. This did not seem to be a busy time, however, because there weren’t any visible people around. Yuuya wondered why. Shouldn’t they have been loading or unloading or something? Or was there not much to do around a dock this time of day? Yuuya didn’t know a lot about shipping, but the odd hollow noises coming from the vacant boats and the mournful sighing of the waves made him edgy. 

Therefore, he was almost ready for it when the portals opened and Uprising soldiers spilled out. 

“All right! We’ve got them!” the leader shouted into a communication device. He turned his blank masked stare onto Yuuya and his friends. “You’ve been surrounded by the Uprising! Come with us voluntarily and you won’t get hurt!” 

“Not happening!” Yuuya snapped back. “Come on, guys, let’s show ‘em what we did to the last bunch!” 

They spread out, preparing to tackle as many of the soldiers as possible. Yuuya found himself wishing all over again that he had Yuuto with him. He and his friends were far outnumbered - by about six to one, he guessed - and those weren’t exactly the best odds. 

_Distractions,_ he thought. _Disrupt their teamwork._

He struck a jaunty pose, raising one hand high. 

“Ladies and gentlemen!” he declaimed. “Welcome to today’s show! If I may direct your attention to center stage...” 

Without seeming to realize what they were doing, several of the soldiers stopped to look. Yuuya’s showboating had that effect on people. He clapped his hands over his head, producing a spray of confetti, paper streamers, and two white doves. Some of the soldiers actually applauded, drawing looks of annoyance from their less susceptible comrades. Yuuya didn’t mind. The important thing was that they were all either looking at him, or else glaring at their companions. They were not watching Gongenzaka come up and grab two of them to hurl them into the nearby ocean, while Yuzu performed a quick spin and smacked five of them in their faces with her fan. 

One of the soldiers - one who was not either floundering in the ocean or reeling from a blow - whipped out one of their odd machines and pointed it at Yuuya. A woman next to him grabbed his wrist and forced it down again. 

“No!” she snapped. “The boss wants this one awake and kicking!” 

Yuuya didn’t like the sound of that. Any villain who wanted you brought back alive and conscious was probably not doing so because they wanted to invite you to their birthday party. Granted, it was probably better in the short term than just wanting you dead, but it suggested a certain frame of mind. 

“You’d better go back and tell your boss we’re not interested,” he said. 

“You’re coming with us whether you like it or not,” said one of the men. He had produced a loop of something blue and glowing, obviously a restraint of some kind. 

Yuzu snorted. “I’d like to see you make Gon-chan go anywhere he doesn’t want to go.” 

“Oh, we don’t care about him,” said the man with the restraints. “It’s you and him we want.” He jerked his chin towards Yuuya. 

All right, that did it. A villain who liked bringing prisoners home to play with was scary; one who had definite plans for specific people was not to be tolerated. 

“I’m not leaving yet,” he said. “After all, the show has just begun!” 

He concentrated his mind on the image of a lion tamer prepared to enter the ring. A whip appeared in his hands, and he cracked it expertly just in front of the face of the man who’d been threatening him, making him flinch. A second flick looped around his ankles and jerked him off his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another woman further away aiming one of her devices at Gongenzaka, who was busy fighting two other soldiers and didn’t see her. Yuuya conjured up a wall of balloons to block her line of sight. 

“Don’t let them aim at Gon-chan!” he shouted 

“Right!” Yuzu shouted back. She twirled her fan, letting its blades flash in the bright afternoon sunlight and dazzle the eyes of everyone near her. She finished the move by smacking a soldier in the chin with it hard enough to make him stagger, then kicking another one in the stomach. 

Two men rushed at Yuuya from either side of him. He let his whip vanish and produced two hoops, which he held in his attackers’ paths. They fell through them and disappeared. A moment later, each emerged again, tumbling out of the hoop opposite from where they’d started. The maneuver placed one of them in easy grabbing reach of Gongenzaka, while the other collided directly with Yuzu’s oncoming foot. 

But there were still more of them coming. Yuuya’s concentration began to falter as more and more soldiers rushed at him. The hoops vanished as his focus broke, and he cast about quickly for something that would give him some breathing room. Off to his side, he was vaguely aware that another ring of soldiers was closing in around Yuzu as well. She was whirling about like a technicolor tornado, doing her best to hold them at bay, but she couldn’t watch all of them at once. One of them threw a loop of something around her ankle, and she stumbled and went down on one knee. Gongenzaka roared and barreled forward to protect her. 

_There’s just too many of them,_ Yuuya thought. _I wish the others hadn’t gone away..._

“Ha! Gotcha!” 

Yuuya yelped as a cable looped itself around him, pinning his arms to his sides. One of the soldiers grinned maliciously beneath his mask. 

“So what was that you were saying about not coming with us?” he sneered. 

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” Yuuya shouted back. 

“Oh, you think so?” the soldier replied. “I’d like to see you get away from - oof!” 

He reeled, apparently knocked sideways by some powerful force. The odd thing was that Yuuya hadn’t seen what had hit him. There had just been a rush of air, a blur, and suddenly he was being jerked nearly off his feet as his captor reeled. All around the dock, other Uprising soldiers were apparently being hit by the same invisible force. Yuuya heard a _clang_ above his head, and looked up at a nearby shipping container. Where there had been no one a moment ago, there was now a young man. For an instant, Yuuya wondered if the Uprising had brought in reinforcements, but this didn’t look like an Uprising fighter. He was wearing the sort of sleek bodysuit popular with the more acrobatic type of hero, a blue one patterned with white and yellow lightning bolts. He wore a matching helmet that looked designed as much to cut wind resistance as to protect his head. 

“Hi,” he said cheerfully. “You look like you could use some help.” 

* * *

Shingo stalked along the streets of the city, feeling at odds with himself. All right, yes, he had made his choice, and it had been a good one. He was confident of that. The great Sawatari Shingo couldn’t be told what to do like he was just some common grunt. On the other hand, he was supposed to be on a mission, and he knew he was technically disobeying orders from his team leader. He was supposed to know better than that. Anyway, he had told himself he was going to be better behaved around Yuuya. It bothered him that he could lose his resolve so easily. 

He was just wondering if he hadn’t better turn back and apologize - after all, they might run into trouble without him, and then there would be trouble for everybody. However, before he could completely make up his mind, a shadow fell over him. He turned around to see Yuuya swooping down on him from one of those trapeze things he loved so much. The next thing Shingo knew, an arm had looped around his waist, and he was being swung through the air like Jane being carried by Tarzan. 

“Yuuya, what are you doing? Put me down!” Shingo wailed, as he watched the ground dropping away from him. He was heart-stoppingly aware that there was nothing between him and a long drop but Yuuya’s arm and a trapeze that wasn’t actually affixed to anything, and that the ground was getting further away every second. Up and up they swung, and then... Yuuya let go. Shingo screamed as he felt gravity take hold, but Yuuya calmly grabbed hold of another trapeze that hadn’t been there a blink ago, and they began swinging again even higher than before. Shingo whimpered as the cars below went from shoebox-sized to matchbox-sized to the size of grains of rice. Just when he was sure he couldn’t take it any longer, and that he was about to give some unfortunate pedestrian a very unpleasant shower of one sort or another, a rooftop hove into view and Sawatari was deposited upon it with a gentle bump. 

“Tag!” said Yuuya cheerfully. “You’re it!” 

Then he laughed and jumped off the roof, grabbing another trapeze on the way down and swooping away out of sight. 

Shingo lay there on the roof for a few minutes, panting and clinging to the floor as though afraid it might rise up and tip him off. Gradually, his ears stopped ringing, and his pulse settled to something that didn’t feel like his heart was about to beat its way out through his throat. He sat up, wheezing, and stared glassily in the direction Yuuya had gone. 

“Bastard!” he shouted. It came out as a croak. 

Naturally, he got no answer. He shouted a few more threats and imprecations anyway, to make himself feel better. Once his legs stopped feeling like jelly, he carefully got to his feet and went to look for the way down. 

_Okay, I guess I asked for that._ The trick had obviously been some kind of joke on Yuuya’s part, a silly prank meant to scare Shingo and punish him for storming off earlier. Shingo supposed he’d brought it on himself for embarrassing Yuuya in front of his team. If it had been Shingo in his place, having his authority flouted in front of the people who looked up to him, he’d have wanted a little revenge too. And really, it hadn’t done any harm. Now that he’d had time to calm down, Shingo was managing to convince himself that he hadn’t really been all that scared. It had all been over in probably less than five minutes. 

_If he tries it again, I’ll be ready for him. I’ll give him a little surprise too,_ Shingo decided. After all, he might be willing to magnanimously forgive this once, but he wasn’t going to put up with it a second time. 

And with that, he put the incident out of his mind. For once, it might have been better if he’d held a bit more of a grudge. 

* * *

A brightly costumed shape dropped out of the air and landed lightly on the rooftop next to Yuuri. 

“Well, that was fun,” he said, in Yuuya’s voice. 

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” said Yuuri lightly. “But you got the job done, yes?” 

“Of course,” his companion replied. The Yuuya-lookalike glowed and wavered for a moment, becoming slimmer and taller, losing the gaudy costume and replacing it with a blue Uprising uniform. Dennis made a show of dusting himself off. “It was easy. Yuuya’s powers are a great deal of fun to use. I only wish this scene had given me more lines.” 

Yuuri waved a dismissive hand. “It isn’t the length of a scene that determines its importance.” 

“You don’t have to tell me that. I _am_ a professional,” said Dennis primly. 

This was true. Before Yuuri had found him and recruited him to his cause, Dennis’s hobby had been hanging around theaters, shanghaiing the actors in lead roles, and leaving them in a closet somewhere while he played their parts himself. In fact, the shows he infiltrated often got better reviews on the nights he was there than they did otherwise. He didn’t seem to mind that he was always performing under someone else’s name. He didn’t want the credit, he just wanted to stand in the spotlight and hear the applause. He’d had designs on moving his way up from stage to screen, but Yuuri had offered him a more challenging role. 

“Well, this scene is... what is your colorful film saying? In the can. You can go enjoy yourself somewhere, if you want.” 

Dennis brightened. “Can I go back to Maiami and pretend to be Yuuya some more? Being him is fun. I feel like it was a role I was born to play.” 

“Sometimes I envy you,” said Yuuri, half amused, half wistful. “It must be nice to have access to so many skills. Too bad you can’t use more than one at a time.” Actually, Yuuri was rather relieved that Dennis’s shapeshifting capabilities were so limited. If Dennis could ever find a way to utilize more than one power set at the same time, Yuuri might just have to conclude he was too dangerous to live, and Yuuri didn’t want that - not just yet, anyway. As it was, Dennis could only be one person at a time, and there was a cooldown period of an hour or so before he could drop whatever shape he’d been copying and pick up another. Sometimes that was inconvenient, but on the whole, Yuuri considered it better than never being sure from minute to minute who Dennis actually was. 

Dennis raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s what this is all about, isn’t it? Expanding your repertoire, so to speak.” 

“Indeed,” said Yuuri. “Anyway, you can go now. I’ll send someone to collect the footage and see to it that it reaches the proper authorities.” 

“See you later, then,” said Dennis. Another glow, and he became Yuuya again. He jumped from the top of the building, grabbed a trapeze, and swung off. Yuuri watched him go with an odd little smile on his face. 

_You know, I could almost believe he_ was _born to use Yuuya’s power,_ he mused. The thought made him giggle. _Almost, but not quite._

* * *

Yuuya stared at the new arrival and wondered if he should feel grateful or not. Of course, he was glad to have backup, and this new person definitely seemed to be on his side, but wasn’t there something... well, oddly familiar about the way he held himself? Even covered head to toe in a costume, Yuuya couldn’t fight the feeling that he’d seen this person somewhere before. 

The new arrival, apparently feeling that he’d made his point, jumped down from his perch and - disappeared. He reappeared standing next to a puzzled Gongenzaka. 

“Hiya, buddy,” he said cheerfully. “Here, hold this, would ya?” He pressed a piece of cord into Gongenzaka’s hand. Then he blurred again, and was suddenly at Gon-chan’s other side. “Okay, and hold your arm out like this. Got it? Good. Brace yourself!” 

Then he was gone again. Fortunately, Gongenzaka was very good at bracing himself, because he had only a split-second to react before he and everyone else saw what happened. The cord went taut as the blur zipped across the battlefield, then began running in an arc, gathering up Uprising soldiers as it went, scooping them into a tight bundle and reeling them in to Gongenzaka’s waiting embrace. 

“Thanks,” said Gongenzaka, as he set about tying them up. 

The blur resolved into the blue-clad figure again long enough to say, “No, thank _you_!” before zooming away again. 

“Quick!” shouted an Uprising captain. “Get the circus kid and the girl before...” He looked around, but Yuuya was no longer in his restraints. He was sitting on top of the shipping container their new friend had been perched on a moment before. The captain glared. “How did you get up there?” 

“Escape artist,” said Yuuya. “I’m really good at magic tricks.” 

The captain took out one of his portal guns. “That’s it! I don’t care what the boss says, I’m going to...” 

What he was going to do was never revealed, because Yuzu kicked him hard in the seat, sending him flying. The gun flew out of his hands, skidded along the pavement, and was scooped up by the speedster, and tossed into the ocean. A moment later, the captain went into the water with it. Yuuya jumped into the air, grabbed one of his trapezes, and let himself fly through the remaining soldiers like a wrecking ball. Yuzu had taken up a station near the water’s edge, and was now busily playing whack-a-mole with any Uprising soldier trying to get out of the ocean. The air rang with the sound of her fan striking heads and hands. She seemed to be having a good time. 

“Retreat!” someone shouted, and the cry was taken up by the rest of the Uprising. The air glowed as portals began to appear and the soldiers ran for them. They weren’t running very fast, because the speedster kept zipping past and tripping them on their way out. 

“That’s right!” he shouted. “Though you could run away from me, huh?” 

At that point, he must have tried to look over his shoulder to watch his enemies retreat. All Yuuya registered, however, was a sudden _clong_ , and then the man in blue was lying on his back in front of a vibrating lamp post. He sat up and rubbed his head. 

“Who put that there?” he demanded. “That totally wasn’t there a minute ago!” 

“Sheesh,” Yuuya muttered. 

Still, the effect had been made. The last of the Uprising soldiers was already vanishing through a portal. Yuuya paused a moment, making sure no one had been overlooked, before walking over to help his new friend up. 

“Hey, thanks for the save back there,” he said. 

“No problem,” said the man in blue cheerfully. “I just had this funny feeling, you know, that somebody down by the docks needed my help, so I figured I’d zip down and check it out. Weird how that worked out, isn’t it?” 

“Pretty weird,” Yuuya agreed. He was getting a funny feeling now, too. He remembered the odd feeling of familiarity he’d had when he’d first seen this man, and how just a moment before he’d been wishing that Yuuto was there with him. “Anyway, I’m the Entertainer, but you can call me Yuuya. That’s Music Boxer and the Immovable Man.” 

“I’m the Blue Blur,” said the man, unsurprisingly enough. “Fastest man in Japan, that’s me! But my friends call me Yuugo.” 

He slipped his helmet off. Yuuya felt he should have been more surprised. Yuugo’s hair was mostly blue, with one lock of yellow falling across his forehead, and his eyes were gray. Otherwise he could have passed for Yuuya’s brother. Or Yuuto’s, for that matter. 

Yuugo either didn’t notice the resemblance, or else it didn’t bother him. It may have had something to do with the fact that Yuuya was still wearing his carnival mask, or the fact that Yuugo had just crashed headfirst into a lamp post, but he wasn’t sure. He had a sense that Yuugo might just be the sort of person who didn’t get hung up on details, no matter how weird they were. 

“I haven’t seen you guys around here before,” said Yuugo. “You new in town?” 

“We just got here this morning,” said Yuuya. “We were supposed to be out gathering information, and we ran into those guys. I don’t think they like us very much. Do you see them a lot around here?” 

“Search me,” said Yuugo. “I’ve been living somewhere else for a few years. Just moved in a few weeks ago.” 

“So why are you here?” Yuzu asked. 

“I’m looking for someone,” said Yuugo. “I’ll tell you all about it, if you want. Maybe you’ll hear something while you’re gathering information. But first...” He looked around at them with pleading eyes. “Have you guys had lunch yet? I’m _starving_.” 

Yuuya grinned in spite of himself. He’d never met a hyperspeeder who didn’t have a metabolism like a blast furnace. It probably had something to do with being able to do more in fifteen minutes than most people did all week. 

“I guess it is about lunchtime,” he said aloud. “What do you say, guys? Want to have lunch with our new friend here?” 

“The man Gongenzaka is always ready to make new friends!” Gongenzaka asserted. 

“Sure,” said Yuzu, and Yuuya couldn’t quite read her expression. “I’d like to learn more about you and your missing friend.” 

Yuuya’s brow creased slightly. All right, yes, it was weird the way he kept running into people who had his face, but Yuugo seemed like a perfectly nice person. Nevertheless, Yuuya had the definite feeling that Yuzu didn’t trust him. Come to think of it, she’d always been a little edgy around Yuuto, too. He’d noticed on the drive up that she’d barely spoken to him the entire trip. He wondered why she seemed to be taking Yuuya’s plethora of doppelgangers harder than he was. That bothered him a little. Yuzu had always been his biggest supporter, and he didn’t like feeling that he’d done something to upset her. 

“Sure thing,” said Yuugo. “To tell the truth, I’ve hit a dead end looking for her, so if you could help me out, I’d sure appreciate it. Her name is Rin. Have you heard of her?” 

Yuuya wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard Yuzu gasp.


	19. Provocation

Yuugo had grown up in the slums of Skyline City. There had been slums back then, back before Roget had become mayor and everything had changed. Back then, he’d been an orphan, doing his best to survive in the world without a lot of resources to fall back on. He’d grown up in an orphanage for a few years, a place that had only been tolerable because of the friends he’d made there. He was an easygoing boy, the kind who made friends easily, but Rin had always been his best friend. They had done everything together: shared toys, bandaged each other’s skinned knees, stayed up half the night whispering to each other from their cots. Their favorite dream had been that someday, they would manifest superpowers. It could happen any time, after all. One day, one of them was bound to wake up and discover they could fly or turn invisible, and then they would get out. That was everyone’s dream, there in the orphanage: to Get Out - to be adopted, or to be rescued by their real family, or to find a winning lottery ticket, or to become a super and be taken away to be trained. 

“Don’t worry,” Yuugo had told Rin more than once, on days when hunger and helplessness were biting down particularly hard. “If I become a hero, the first thing I’ll do when I’ve got money is to come and get you. Then we’ll live together in a nice house, and we’ll get married and live happily ever after.” 

She’d smiled. “What if I don’t want to get married, hm? Ever think of that?” 

“Then I’ll come get you anyway,” he promised. “And we’ll still be best friends forever.” 

“Good,” she said. “If I become a hero, then I’ll come and get you.” 

“And what if we’re both supers?” 

Rin grinned. “Then we’ll be a hero team and beat up all the bad guys!” 

Those had been good dreams. They had gotten him through a lot of long, dark days. Then one day, a man from the government had come and given everyone in the orphanage a blood test. This was something that happened, about once every five years. Any child over the age of ten who registered sufficiently high S-levels would automatically be taken away and put in a school for heroes. Yuugo and Rin had been too young the last time he’d passed through, but now they were both eleven and looking forward to it. In Yuugo’s heart of hearts, he was _sure_ that he and Rin would both turn out to have latent superpowers, and they would be taken out of this dismal place and go somewhere wonderful where they could begin their happily ever after. 

Rin passed. Yuugo... didn’t. 

“I’ll come back and get you,” she promised, while Yuugo cried. “I will. As soon as I’m done with school, I’ll be a hero, and I’ll come back and get you.” 

And then she’d gone. Yuugo had been miserable for days. Gradually, though, he had come to terms with his loss. He missed his best friend so much it hurt, but he was glad she had gone somewhere she could be safe and happy. Sometimes she sent him letters from school, telling him that she was all right and that she was thinking of him. Over time, though, the letters became fewer and fewer, until at last they stopped altogether. 

When Yuugo turned fifteen, the orphanage apprenticed him to a mechanic. He didn’t mind that so much. He’d always been handy with tools and machines, and he liked getting to do something useful and earning a little money. A year later, he left the orphanage entirely to work there full time. His new employer wasn’t a particularly good man, or even a particularly good mechanic, and spent most of his time drinking or dozing in the back room while Yuugo did most of the actual work. Still, Yuugo was good at what he did, so they managed to draw in a few customers who might otherwise have gone to a more respectable part of town, and one way or another he managed to keep his head above water. 

Well, more or less. 

That was where he’d been the day everything changed: in the garage, trying to get a particularly old and battered motorcycle to come alive again. Yuugo had always had a special affinity for motorcycles. This one’s owner had told him that others had tried to resurrect it and failed, and he’d promised Yuugo a lot of money if he could succeed where the others had not. Yuugo was determined to make it happen. Business had been slow the last few weeks, and he’d run out of money days ago. He’d eaten next to nothing this week, and for the past fortnight or so, he’d been coping with some sort of head cold that wouldn’t go away. If he could get this bike up and running, he’d have money for food and medicine, maybe even enough to take a few days off to rest and recover. For now, he tried to ignore his lightheadedness, his headache, and the tightness in his stomach, and focus entirely on getting this blasted heap of scrap metal to cooperate. 

He’d been swearing at a part that was refusing to fit where he was trying to put it when he became aware of a shadow falling over him. 

“Tough day?” asked a sympathetic voice. 

Yuugo looked up to find his friend Shinji looking worriedly down at him. 

“I think this part is bent,” said Yuugo. He stat up, easing the strain from his back and shoulders. “Hey, you wouldn’t know where to scrounge up something to eat, could you? I could really use a square meal.” 

This was not a completely random question. Shinji was known to be good at scrounging things, often in ways that weren’t entirely legal. 

Shinji grimaced. “Sorry. I just passed my last load off to the orphanage. If I’d known you needed it, I’d have saved you something.” 

“It’s all right,” Yuugo assured him. “Once I get paid for this, I’ll be set for a while. I’ve just gotta get this contraption to work with me a little. Hand me that wrench, would you?” 

Shinji obligingly passed it to him. He watched Yuugo silently for a while as he manhandled the part into place. 

“You know, if you’re really hard up,” he said at last, “I heard there were some do-gooders hanging around Edgewood. You might be able to get something out of them.” 

Yuugo brightened a little. The phrase “do-gooders” carried both good and bad connotations in this part of the city. It referred collectively to a class of people who turned up every year or so. They took surveys, asked people questions, sometimes made short films or took heart-wrenching pictures of the children in the orphanage and the old beggars on the street, and they promised they were there to help and that things were going to get better. Then they went away, and everything went back to the way things had always been. However, they did tend to be softhearted, and often brought money, food, toiletries, and other useful things with them to distribute to the locals. It was never enough, and soon used up, but it was nice while it lasted. 

“It’s worth a shot,” said Yuugo. He looked at the clock. “It’s about time I took a lunch break anyway.” He eased his way stiffly to his feet. “Thanks for the heads-up.” 

The do-gooders were just where Shinji had promised they would be. Yuugo found them working out of what had been, up until recently, an abandoned storefront. Some of them were walking around with clipboards, asking people questions and filling out forms. He was pleased to see that some of them were also handing out fruit, sandwiches, and bottled drinks. Still, Yuugo had learned the hard way not to trust anything that looked too good to be true, so he loitered a little ways away, watching the people’s comings and goings, until he worked out something of what was going on. He had the impression that these people were interested in health and nutrition, which was good for his purposes, and also that they were all deferring to a man with red hair. He seemed quite young, probably not much more than twenty, but he was clearly the one in charge. He seemed friendly enough, so Yuugo approached him. 

“Hi,” he said. “What are you guys doing?” 

“Research,” said the man. “Specifically, we’re doing a study on nutrition. Are you interested in participating?” 

“Does it mean I get something to eat?” asked Yuugo hopefully. “Because I don’t mind telling you, I could really use a snack right about now.” 

“Yes,” said the man slowly. “I rather think it does.” 

Yuugo had to fight the urge to cringe. The man was now looking Yuugo over with an expression that had suddenly become calculating. It wasn’t, Yuugo thought, the sort of look a cute teenaged boy might get from a man with money and power who was looking for favors. It was more the sort of look a mathematician might give an interesting equation that he was trying to decide how best to tackle. 

“Pardon me for asking,” said the man, “but did you know you’re a super?” 

Yuugo’s jaw dropped. “Me? No way. I mean, I know I’ve got the hair for it...” He ran a nervous hand through his blue and yellow locks, “but I got tested a few years ago, and my S-levels were like fifteen or something. I don’t have any kind of talents.” 

“You might be surprised,” said the man. He held out a hand. “Pardon me, I should have introduced myself. My name as Mokota Michio, and I’m an expert on nutrition, particularly as it relates to supers. I’m currently researching a pet theory of mine...” 

He talked. Yuugo listened and tried to understand. The gist of it seemed to be that while most people thought a person’s S-levels were set from birth and never changed, there were some cases where poor health - especially not getting enough of the right things to eat, from Mokota’s perspective - could cause a temporary drop in S-levels as the body tried to conserve its resources. To that end, he was actively seeking out people who had grown up in poverty, testing their S-levels, and then testing them again after a few weeks on a carefully controlled diet to see if anything changed. It all sounded nonsensical to Yuugo, but he gathered the important part: if he could convince this man that he did, in fact, have latent superpowers, then the man would feed him for a few days. 

And maybe - here the first flickerings of hope stirred - this Mokota person was right. Maybe Yuugo _did_ have superpowers lurking somewhere inside him. If he was really a super... 

_I’d be set for life. I could get a sponsorship, start earning some real money... and maybe I could find out what happened to Rin..._

His mind skidded away from that. The thought of Rin was still one that hurt. Half of him was sure that she had simply become caught up in the glamor of being a hero at last, and the excitement of having lots of new friends at school, and he had gradually faded from her mind. The other half of him was terrified that she was in some kind of trouble. After all, super or not, she was still just an orphan girl from the slums, and who would take notice if something happened to her before her powers had come into fruition? He wasn’t sure which possibility worried him more, but one way or the other, he was determined to find a way to get out in the world and find her. 

“Supposing I did your study,” said Yuugo. “What would you do, exactly?” 

“Well, we’d give you a blood test to check your S-levels,” said Mokota, “and give you a general examination to get an idea of your overall health. Then you’d stay at my research facility for three weeks while we monitor you. It’s quite pleasant there, I promise you - just like staying at a nice hotel.” 

Yuugo frowned. “I don’t want a lot of people poking and prodding and sticking things in me.” 

“It won’t be so bad,” Mokota hastily assured him. “About like getting a checkup at the doctor’s office. No one is going to go implanting things, or cutting you open to see what makes you tick. Just a few blood tests, that’s all.” 

Yuugo still wasn’t convinced. “And what if you go through all your tests and it turns out in the end that I still don’t have any powers? You’re gonna bill me for letting me stay with you for three weeks?” 

“On the contrary,” Mokota assured him. “I will, in fact, give you a small honorarium for your time.” 

“What’s an honor-aquarium?” 

“It means I’ll give you money,” said Mokota. “And if it turns out that you do have powers, I’ll make sure you get sent for proper training. I might even give you a sponsorship, if you turn out to have promise.” He smiled. “I do this kind of work for my own interests, as a kind of hobby. Most of my income is from professional heroes who require my expert services. I’m the only one in the world who can do what I do, and that means I can command very high prices.” 

Yuugo’s expression cleared as he understood this situation. This, then, was a rich man who wanted to spend his money on indulging his scientific curiosity. There were, he supposed, probably worse things to do with a lot of money. In the meantime, if Yuugo played along, he would get a few good meals and some cash, and that was nothing to turn his nose up at. 

“Okay,” he said. “You’re on.” 

“Very good,” said Mokota, smiling. “Just go to one of my assistants over there and fill out the paperwork, and we’ll have you on your way.” 

And so, for the first time in his life, Yuugo left home. Mokota - Michie, as he soon learned everyone called him - was as good as his word. The first few hours in Yuugo’s new home were mildly uncomfortable, as he was indeed given a complete checkup and several blood tests, and also forced to take a long and thorough shower. Afterwards, though, he was given some fresh, clean clothing and a big bowl of soup, so he considered himself amply repaid. He sat and slurped while he waited for the doctor to read over his notes. 

“Well, you have a sinus infection,” Mitchie was saying, “and some internal parasites, but my healers will take care of that for you, so you should start feeling a lot better in a few days. Also, as I suspected, you’re suffering from malnutrition, but that’s one thing you don’t have to worry about around here.” He smiled and gestured to one of his helpers. “Please show our guest to his room and see to it that he has everything he needs.” 

So began what were some of the happiest days of Yuugo’s life. The rooms he was given lived up to their promise. He learned later that they were normally occupied by important pro heroes, there for rest and recovery, and were therefore appropriately luxurious. For once in his life, he had a room that was warm, that didn’t leak when it rained, that wasn’t troubled by rats or cockroaches. He had a big soft bed, he had sofas and chairs, he had soft carpets to walk on. There was even a big entertainment center with a selection of movies and video games, and a bookshelf with some popular books on it. The bathroom didn’t just have reliable hot water, it had a whirlpool tub he could lounge in. As for the meals, the people in this place virtually worshipped food. All he ever had to do was pick up a phone and indicate in a general sort of way that he was feeling a bit peckish, and someone would be there within five minutes with a tray of something suitable to the hour. Some of the dishes - many of them, in fact - were entirely unfamiliar to him, but everything was fresh and perfectly prepared and served in gratifying portion sizes, and he was hardly the type to be a picky eater. For the first three days or so, in fact, he did very little but eat and doze, slowly recovering from his ailments and rebuilding his strength. 

By about the fourth day, however, he began to grow bored of inaction, and began venturing out of his rooms to explore. There was plenty to see and do in the compound, and while at first he didn’t do much more than go for short walks around the central courtyard, he soon began to take advantage of the gym, to try paddling in the pool, and to get acquainted with the other guests in the social lounge. It was all peaceful and pleasant, but by the end of the week, he was starting to feel a bit guilty. Meeting some of the other people who were staying here - famous pro heroes, some of them - had hit home to him just how important and respected Dr. Mokota was. He was spending a lot of time and resources on Yuugo, all in the expectation that Yuugo would be able to do something for him one day. So far, Yuugo hadn’t done anything at all to suggest he might have any superpowers. He’d been warned that he would be given another round of blood tests at the end of the week, and he was dreading what would happen when it was administered and his S-levels were exactly the same as they’d always been. Oh, Mokota had promised that he would pay Yuugo for his time regardless, but Yuugo knew something about the promises of rich people. They always lost interest in you when you were of no use to them. 

He’d been thinking those kinds of thoughts while hanging around in the public lounge. It was a large, airy, open place, with views of the courtyard garden through one wall. The rest of the room was occupied by groupings of comfortable tables and chairs, where people could read, play board games, or watch television. One end of the room held a coffee service, with pots of coffee and tea, along with cream, sugar, flavored syrups, and of course, trays of pastries and cookies. Yuugo had been watching an old movie on TV without really paying attention to it, so he only noticed out of the corner of his eye when someone began walking away from the coffee service, tripped on the rug, and began to fall. 

What happened next was instantaneous and instinctive. Yuugo jumped up from his seat, dashed across the room, and reached out to catch the falling cup. To his amazement, it was still hovering in the air, barely moving. He scooped the flying coffee out of the air - with some difficulty, as it showed a tendency to slosh - and set it back on the coffee bar before catching the falling man and nudging him upright again. 

From his perspective, the world sped up to real time again. He looked around, realizing suddenly that everyone in the room was staring at him. 

“Ha!” said Dr. Mokota, in obvious satisfaction. “I _knew_ you had it in you!” 

* * *

“...so here I am,” Yuugo concluded. 

He, Yuuya, Yuzu, and Gongenzaka were all sitting together at a local burger place, which appeared to be a particular favorite of Yuugo’s,. The staff were all clearly familiar with him despite his short stay in the city, probably because not many people could eat like a hyperspeeder. They were already ringing in his regular order as soon as he walked through the door. Yuuya had to admit, the food was pretty good here, if what you were after was a healthy serving of starch, salt, fat, and grease, possibly with bacon on top. Since the food at the academy had been mostly pretty healthy, Yuuya was finding it a refreshing novelty. 

“So you’re a pro hero now?” Gongenzaka asked. 

Yuugo nodded. He swallowed a mouthful of fries and elaborated, “The doc shipped me off to the nearest school to get some training.” 

“You didn’t go to Hero Academy, did you?” Yuuya asked. “I think I’d remember you if I’d seen you.” 

Yuugo shook his head. “Nah, I went to a school Dr. Mokota’s got some ties to - they donate money to him, or he donates money to them or something. Or maybe he’s got some sort of internship program with them, I forget. Anyway, I went to school a while, I got my license, and I started working as a prop with the Mokota Institute as my sponsor. It didn’t bring in much money, but it earned me enough to get a stake together and come back here. And now I’m stuck.” 

“Stuck how?” Yuuya asked. 

“Well, I’m trying to find out what happened to Rin,” he explained. “This was the last place I saw her, so I figured this was where I should start looking. I tried to ask the orphanage if they had any idea where she’d gone, but when I went and looked, it wasn’t there anymore. They’d gentrified the whole neighborhood and put up a row of townhouses. I don’t know what family name she’d be using these days, and it’s tough to search a city this big for someone if all you know is their first name. I don’t know what hero name she’d be registered under. I don’t know if she’s still in school or if she’d have graduated by now. I don’t even know what powers she wound up having. I really don’t have much to go on.” 

“That sounds pretty stuck, all right,” Yuuya agreed. “What are you going to do next?” 

“Darned if I know.” Yuugo picked glumly at the remains of his burger. “I guess I’ll just keep doing hero work until I run across a clue. This is a big city - there’s bound to be plenty of work for me. Maybe I can pick up a few more sponsorships while I’m here and start earning some real money and making some connections.” 

“That’s not the way we hear it,” said Gongenzaka. “People here say there’s no crime. There’s supposed to be a top-tier hero called the Wind Witch who takes care of everything.” 

“Yeah, I’ve heard of her,” said Yuugo. “I mean, there are action figures and stuff in the stores, but I haven’t actually seen her in action or anything.” 

“Do you think she might be the Rin you’re looking for?” Gongenzaka asked. “I mean, do they look anything alike?” 

Yuugo rubbed the back of his head. “Hard to tell. I mean, I haven’t seen her in, what, seven years? She’s probably grown up a lot since then. I might not recognize her even if she wasn’t wearing a mask. She might not recognize me,” he added wistfully. 

“Well, we were thinking we were going to have to meet with the Wind Witch anyway, if we could,” said Yuuya. “If you’re not doing anything in particular, why don’t you stick with us for a while? We could probably use the help. You really bailed us out back there.” 

“Yeah, what was that all about?” asked Yuugo. “I’ve never seen those guys around before.” 

“They’re part of a group called the Uprising,” said Yuuya. “As far as we can figure, they’re preaching that supers ought to rule society and normals ought to be our slaves” 

“Oh, one of those,” said Yuugo. “Yeah, I learned about those types in school. I don’t think I could put up with that kind of thing.” 

“Us either,” said Yuuya. “But we’re pretty sure they’re up to something else besides that, and just using that line to lure in followers. Whatever they’re up to, it’s bound to be bad news, so we’re here in this city following up a lead that they’ve got a headquarters hidden here somewhere.” 

“You think so?” said Yuugo. He looked thoughtful. “Maybe that’s why this city feels so weird these days. It didn’t used to be like this. It’s all clean and quiet and everything, but... I don’t know, it just feels off. Doesn’t it feel off to you?” 

Yuuya and his companions all nodded. 

“Well, it sounds like we’ve got stuff in common,” said Yuugo. “If you’re okay with it, I’d be glad to help you guys out.” 

Yuuya beamed. “Great! I’ll call our team leader and let him know we’ve got a volunteer. Do you have a way we can get in contact with you?” 

Yuugo gave him his cell number. Yuuya promised to give him a call once he had the okay from Reiji, and they all said goodbye before Yuugo vanished in a blur again. 

“Well, he seemed nice,” said Yuuya. 

“He did,” said Gongenzaka, but he was frowning. 

“Something wrong?” Yuuya asked. “Do you think I was too quick to let him work with us? I mean, I didn’t tell him where our base was or who we’re working for, so if Reiji decides not to trust him...” 

“No, I don’t mean that,” said Gongenzaka. “It’s just... doesn’t it worry you that you keep meeting people who look just like you?” 

Yuuya had a brief sense of unease. Gongenzaka was right - he _should_ have been worried. He _had_ been worried, for a moment. Then it had all gone out of his head, and he’d treated everything that was happening as though it were quite normal. But it wasn’t normal. Meeting one person who looked just like him was possibly a coincidence, but meeting two seemed pretty unlikely unless there was a really good reason behind it, and that wasn’t even counting the fact that someone passing for Yuuya had been running around setting fire to Maiami City last night. How many copies of him _were_ there running around, and how did they get there? And more importantly, why did he always seem to forget how strange it all was as soon as everyone stopped talking about it? It was like a dream, where a dog could talk or a tree could get up and walk away, and you’d accept it calmly as the way the world worked, and would only realize on waking that such things couldn’t happen. 

“No,” he said slowly, “but it’s starting to worry me that it doesn’t worry me.” 

They left the restaurant in a subdued mood. Yuuya was still mulling over the ramifications of his meeting with Yuugo, but not so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Yuzu looking even more thoughtful than he was. He arranged to let Gongenzaka get a little ahead of him so he could walk beside her. 

“You were quiet back there,” he said. “Something wrong?” 

She turned to look at him with wide, worried eyes. 

“I think something is,” she said. 

He put his arm around her shoulders. “Hey, it’s okay. Just tell me what it is and we’ll work it out together.” 

Yuzu bit her lower lip nervously. “It’s just... I’ve been keeping a secret from you. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done it, but I was scared...” 

Yuuya was surprised. He and Yuzu had been friends so long he literally couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t been a part of his life. There was no one in the world he trusted more, and it hurt a little to think she hadn’t been able to trust him. 

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” he said. “Just tell me what it is. It’ll be okay.” 

“I think I have to,” said Yuzu. She took a deep breath. “I think I know why you keep meeting these doubles, and I think I know where Rin is. I think I know how to recognize her, too.” 

Yuuya frowned. “How do you know all this stuff? And why didn’t you speak up sooner?” 

“Because it’s all really complicated. And scary,” said Yuzu. “And you aren’t going to like it. Look, can we go somewhere we can talk in private?” 

“Sure,” said Yuuya. He called out, “Hey, Gon-chan, go on ahead of us, all right? Tell Reiji what happened, and we’ll get back to you in a bit. Yuzu has something she wants to talk to me about.” 

“All right,” said Gongenzaka. “See you later, then. Good luck, Yuzu.” 

Something in his expression made Yuuya think that Gongenzaka already had a pretty good idea of what Yuzu had to tell him. It didn’t make him feel much better. In fact, he was starting to get genuinely worried. If whatever this thing was Yuzu wanted to tell him was so momentous that neither she nor Gongenzaka felt like they could tell him about it... 

They paused at a coffee bar long enough to pick up two drinks, then wandered into a convenient little park. They sat across from each other at a picnic table, toying with their lattes without really tasting them. 

“So,” he said at last, “what did you want to tell me?” 

“It’s hard to know where to start,” she admitted. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay. Did your mother ever tell you about a friend of your father’s called Zarc...?” 

* * *

Yuuto was on patrol and not enjoying it one bit. Normally he preferred to patrol at night, when there were more shadows at his disposal. He was not, by nature, a daytime creature, and all this sunshine was getting on his nerves. It wasn’t just that, either. This city was too clean, too bright, too _empty_ somehow. He had the unnerving feeling that it wasn’t quite real. It was a dollhouse city, a theme park city, a stage set dressed up to _look_ like a city. Which was silly, of course. He could clearly see it was a city. There were people out shopping, getting on and off busses, riding their bicycles, and doing all those other little things that city people did. If you had a lot of buildings and people and vehicles together in one spot, that made a city, didn’t it? And yet there seemed to be some essential underlying city-ness missing, and that irked him because he couldn’t explain it. 

Just at the moment, he was perched on top of a building, taking advantage of what shelter an air duct provided, and listening to the city sounds. Trouble generally made noise, and he was good at picking such noises. Just now, he wanted to get a feel for the tempo of this city, so he could tell when trouble was about to strike. 

A shadow fell over him, and he glanced up to see that Shun had returned. The two of them had split up almost as soon as they’d set out, and Yuuto was looking forward to hearing Shun’s perspective on things. 

“Any news?” he asked, as his friend dropped out of the air. 

“Not so much news as rumors,” said Shun, settling his feathers. “I’ve been trying to find out more about the man who runs this city.” 

“Not a bad idea,” said Yuuto. “This is a very strange city. The man who made it this way must be a bit odd, too.” 

“Downright suspicious,” Shun agreed. “Have you heard much about him yet?” 

“Not yet,” said Yuuto. “I’ve mostly been at rooftop level the last few hours. What’s he like?” 

Shun shrugged and took out his phone. “See for yourself. There are plenty of news clips about him.” 

He tapped a few buttons and held up the screen so Yuuto could see. The video showed a pale blond man smiling rather smugly for the camera as he discussed some plan or other he had for the city. Yuuto tried to listen, but he managed only a few seconds before something began drowning out his voice. A ringing had begun in Yuuto’s ears, and his pulse began to race. A red mist began descending across his vision as all at once, he was swept up in a tide of white hot, all-consuming rage. 

_He’s here! He’s right here in this city...!_

“Where is he?” he managed to croak. 

“What?” Shun’s eyes had gone wide, and he was staring at Yuuto in what he vaguely perceived as alarm. 

“Where is he? I’m going to kill him!” Yuuto declared. He turned away, scanning the skyline for something that looked like a city hall. 

“Yuuto, what are you...” 

Shun tried to grip Yuuto’s arm. Yuuto whirled on him and shoved him away. 

“Let me go! I have to find him!” He turned away again and took a few aimless steps towards the edge of the roof. “I’ll kill him! I’ll tear him to little pieces! I’ll....” 

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” 

Shun lunged forward again and grabbed both of Yuuto’s arms. Yuuto began struggling furiously, thrashing like a wild thing. Such was his frenzy that he managed to free one arm from Shun’s powerful grip, and he whirled around and punched him in the chin. Shun staggered backwards, but managed not to let go of the other arm. The two of them wound up falling over together, and began floundering around in a tangle of arms and legs and wings. Yuuto was only vaguely aware, through the red haze, of the fact that he was striking his best friend with his fists, kicking and clawing and trying to bite him. It didn’t seem to make any difference. In the dark, roaring world he inhabited now, the only thing that mattered was finding the man he’d seen on that screen and reducing him to bloody shreds. 

“Get a grip on yourself!” Shun bellowed, and slapped him. He managed a direct hit across Yuuto’s cheek, eliciting a sharp, clean _crack_ as it struck home. The pain and noise cut through the roiling fog in Yuuto’s mind, and he sat back, blinking a little as the world settled back into its usual shape and color. 

“You hit me,” he said stupidly. 

“Do I need to hit you again?” Shun asked. 

“Maybe. My head feels strange...” 

“I’ll just bet it does.” Shun was looking genuinely worried. “What the hell just happened?” 

“I don’t know,” Yuuto admitted. He rubbed his face where Shun had hit it. 

“Well, you’d better figure it out,” said Shun. “One minute you were watching a boring news clip full of politicians talking about installing parking meters, and the next minute you were out for blood. Are you really telling me you don’t know what you were so angry about?” 

“No, I...” Yuuto paused, searching his memory. “I’m not sure, but I felt... for a little while there, I was sure I knew that man. I mean, I’d met him before. He... insulted me. Humiliated me. That’s not a strong enough word. He tormented me, only... I swear, I’ve never met him before in my life.” 

“His name is Jean-Michel Roget,” said Shun. “Does that help?” 

Yuuto shook his head. “Doesn’t ring a bell. But for just a minute there, I could have sworn he wronged me, and I was going to get revenge.” 

“We need to get back to headquarters,” said Shun. “Someone needs to hear about this.” 

Yuuto shook his head. “I’m sure it’s nothing... maybe he has some sort of power that has this effect on some people.” 

“I don’t think he’d have gotten elected if he triggers random murderous rages,” said Shun. “Something’s wrong with you, Yuuto. If you don’t go home voluntarily, I’m going to pick you up and carry you, and I know you can’t shadow-jump in midair during daylight.” 

Yuuto couldn’t argue this. 

“All right,” he said weakly. Now that the boiling rage had subsided, he was beginning to feel cold and frightened. He had completely lost control of himself, enough so that he’d tried to hurt his own best friend. Even now, there was a trickle of blood on Shun’s lip and scratches across his wrists where Yuuto had tried to fight his way free of him. He was certain, in the pit of his stomach, that if that Jean-Michel Roget person had been here, and the only way to get to him had been to go through Shun, he’d have killed Shun or died trying. The thought made him sick. 

_What’s wrong with me?_

“Let’s go, then,” said Shun. He took to the air and hovered, plainly watching to make sure Yuuto wasn’t going to change his mind and go back on the warpath. But Yuuto wasn’t going to. He never wanted to feel that way again. 

_I just wish I knew how to make sure it never does..._

* * *

It was oddly peaceful in Yuuri’s garden. That had always intrigued Dennis, in a mild sort of way. There had always been something a bit feral about Yuuri. He had been found as an infant in the flower border of a park, and it had always seemed as though the time he had spent abandoned there left a permanent stamp on him, and he had never been able to fully integrate back into society. Certainly there was something of the park about this place. Yuuri’s private conservatory was remarkably beautiful, tastefully arranged and exquisitely cared for. There wasn’t a plant in the world that wouldn’t bloom when Yuuri coaxed it, including some things Dennis suspected didn’t normally have flowers until Yuuri told them that they ought to. There were butterflies here, and tinkling fountains, and little brightly colored birds. You could almost forget that you were sharing tea with a murderous villain. 

Yuuri reached out and placed a bishop on a new square. Dennis made a face. 

“I don’t know why I ever bother playing with you, I really don’t,” he said. He reached for his king, reconsidered, and moved a rook between it and the bishop instead. “You always win.” 

“You were the one who suggested we play,” said Yuuri. “If you don’t want to lose, get better at playing or challenge someone else.” 

“After playing against you, anyone else would be dull,” said Dennis. 

He watched in resignation ast Yuuri reached to move a piece, knowing that wherever it was going, it would be bad news. However, before he could make his move, Yuuri froze. His face took on a curiously distant expression. For long seconds, he sat frozen, as though hearing something a long way off. Dennis waited, uncertain. This was unusual behavior, but he knew better than to interrupt Yuuri when he was doing something. At last, the animation came back into Yuuri’s features. He began to smile, then to giggle, then to laugh uproariously. 

“I wish you’d let me in on the joke,” said Dennis. 

“It’s starting,” said Yuuri, sounding absolutely delighted. “It’s starting already! This is going even better than I thought it would.” 

Dennis perked up a little. “You mean one of your counterparts...?” 

Yuuri nodded. “I knew putting them near Roget would have an effect. Just _seeing_ him was enough to provoke my double into a murderous rage.” 

“You’ve seen Roget before,” Dennis pointed out. “You weren’t provoked into a murderous rage.” 

“I’m different,” said Yuuri complacently. “I want to kill people all the time. Wanting to kill Roget isn’t special.” 

Dennis laughed. “I suppose that includes me, too.” 

“Oh, yes.” Yuuri patted his hand. “But don’t worry. There are _lots_ of other people I’d rather kill than you. You’re practically at the very back of the line. I expect I’ll be far too busy to get around to you.” 

“That’s very comforting,” said Dennis. “So, what do you think our next move should be?” 

Yuuri frowned down at the game board. “I think we have all our pieces in play right now. We may just have to wait and see what happens next.” 

“And if nothing happens?” Dennis asked. 

“Then we’ll just have to provoke them a little. But I don’t think we need to worry about that. Your little performance this morning should be enough to spur them into some kind of action, even if my what my little birdie tells them isn’t enough bait to lure them.” He sighed a little. “What a pity they’ll probably kill Roget themselves. I would have done it better. So much more artistically. I’d have enjoyed doing it.” 

“I suppose you can’t always play the leading role,” said Dennis consolingly. 

“Too true,” said Yuuri. He brightened a little. “Anyway, this isn’t the main part of the drama yet. We’re just setting the stage, yes?” 

“Couldn’t have put it better myself,” said Dennis. “You are, as it were, the director of the play. Your job is to make sure all the players come in on cue.” 

Yuuri nodded, pleased with himself. “So all we have to do is sit back and watch the show. And once everyone is in place...” He picked up a knight and took Dennis’s queen. “Checkmate.”


	20. Explanations

This was going to be more difficult than Reiji had realized. He felt almost ashamed of himself about that. He knew he should have planned this operation better. He should have taken some time to get to know his operatives. He should have rehearsed a little before leaving Maiami. He had been in too much of a hurry. Like a hound catching the scent, he’d seen the chance to go after his father at long last and he’d run off without taking time to fully think things through. The blame for that was completely on him. On the other hand, he refused to take the blame for the fact that his new recruits didn’t seem to be able to do _anything_ right. 

“Let’s run through this again,” he said. 

The crowd in front of him regarded him with the kind of expressions he normally associated with school children who had been caught in some mischief. Gongenzaka had his jaw set, in the manner of a man prepared to take what’s coming to him. Yuuto was looking downcast and guilty. Kurosaki looked worried. Shingo was wearing an air of bravado that suggested that he knew something was wrong somewhere, and until he knew what it was he was going to brazen it out and hope no one could pin anything on them. Yuuya and Yuzu had not elected to show up. Reiji eyed them all with equal disfavor. 

“I sent you all out on a simple scouting mission. I told you that you were to collect information. I told you not to draw attention to yourselves. I expected you not to get into any trouble. So what do I find out?” He turned to glare at Gongenzaka. “First I hear that your team tried to recruit someone new without my permission...” 

Gongenzaka, to his credit, neither flinched nor tried to make excuses, nor did he try to shift the blame onto his team leader. 

“That’s what happened,” he agreed evenly. 

_He really is the immovable man,_ Reiji thought, with something like admiration. 

“Be sure I will be taking it up with your team leader, when he deigns to once more grace us with his presence,” said Reiji. He turned his attention to Kurosaki and Yuuto. “For now, I’d like to hear more about this... incident you told me about. Why precisely did you decide, after I told you to keep a low profile, that what you really wanted to do was assassinate the mayor?” 

“I wish I knew why,” said Yuuto. “It’s just like Shun said - one second I was watching a video, and then a red mist came down, and suddenly I was convinced that this man had wronged me, and I wanted to get revenge.” 

“I see,” said Reiji thoughtfully. “For something in specific, or was it a more general dislike?” 

Yuuto frowned as he tried to put the feeling into words. “Specific, I think. It was like... it was as though this man had done something to me a very long time ago, something so awful that I still hadn’t let it go, but it had happened such a long time ago that I never thought I’d see him again. When I did, it came as a shock, and my feelings overwhelmed me before my brain could catch up. Only it _couldn’t_ have been that way, because I’ll swear I’ve never met that man before or even seen his face. It was as if for a moment I was a completely different person. If Shun hadn’t been there, I think I really would have torn the city apart until I found this Roget and either killed him or died trying.” 

“Troubling,” said Reiji. “Has anything like this ever happened to you before?” 

“Never,” said Yuuto firmly. 

“Then I think we must investigate this phenomenon further,” said Reiji. “There are too many odd phenomena going on in this time and this place. The multiplying copies of Yuuya, your sudden mood swings, the unnatural state of this city, the presence of the Uprising... I don’t know how they all fit together yet, but there must be some connection.” 

“Could it be something to do with this Roget person?” Kurosaki asked. “He’s in charge of the city, and he’s the one who set Yuuto off, so that’s links to two things on your list.” 

“A point,” said Reiji. “I have never heard any bad reports of Jean-Michel Roget, but let me do some research. I may be able to turn something up.” 

“Does he have any powers?” Gongenzaka asked. 

“Not that I’m aware of,” said Reiji. “Although there are ways to suppress that information. As I said, let me dig around a little. I have ways of finding things out, once I know what I’m looking for.” 

Shingo gave him a narrow-eyed look. “What _is_ your power, anyway? I know you’ve got _something_ but nobody’s ever told me what.” 

Reiji hesitated. That was not information he cared to broadcast. It was, of course, a matter of public record - anyone could go down to the registration and look it up, if they wanted to. It was just that most people didn’t bother, and he preferred to keep a low profile so matters would stay that way. On the other hand, he was supposed to be working with these people, and that meant that they might need to know what he was capable of doing in an emergency. 

“I’m an animator,” he said. “I can give objects life for a limited span of time. The exact span of time depends on various factors - how large and complex the object is, how much time it has spent in proximity to me, whether I’ve animated it before, things of that nature. Something I’ve owned a long time and animated repeatedly can remain in its animate state almost indefinitely.” 

Yuuto whistled, and even the haughty Shingo and the unflappable Gongenzaka looked impressed. 

“That’s strong,” said Yuuto. “You must be, what? In the five hundred range, at least.” 

“S-levels aren’t everything,” said Reiji. “My mother has much higher S-levels than my father, but she never had the temperament for hero work. Father’s S-levels were in the low two hundreds, and look at the trouble he’s caused.” 

Gongenzaka nodded approval. “It’s a person’s spirit that makes them a hero, not their powers.” 

“Or a villain, as the case may be,” Reiji replied. “But getting back on topic, I do agree that we should look further into Roget’s doings. Even if he is quite innocent of any wrongdoing - which I doubt, given that he’s a politician - he may have information about this place that he can share with us.” His gaze turned to Sawatari. “And it seems that we are going to have to speak with him about you in any case.” 

“Me?” Sawatari yelped. “What did I do?” 

Reiji favored him with his most sardonic look. “I take it you are not aware that you were kidnapped today?” 

“What?” Sawatari looked baffled. “But I’m not kidnapped. I’m right here!” 

“Not according to the news reports.” Reiji took out his phone and showed Sawatari the screen. The video showed Sawatari walking along the street when a brightly costumed figure swung down from the sky and snatched him up. 

“Well, yeah, that happened!” said Sawatari, “but that wasn’t me being kidnapped, that was just Yuuya having a joke on me.” 

“A joke,” Reiji repeated flatly. 

“Well, yeah,” said Sawatari. “Yuuya and I had, you know, a little... difference of opinion on how the mission should be handled. He was just trying to one-up me. It was a stupid prank. Ask him - he’ll tell you.” 

“He doesn’t seem to be here at the moment, or I would,” said Reiji. 

“I’ll tell you,” said Gongenzaka. “Sawatari picked a fight with Yuuya because he didn’t want to patrol with the rest of us, and he went off on his own. Yuuya, Yuzu, and I stayed together up until a few minutes ago, just before I came here and they went off together to talk.” 

“I see,” said Reiji. He turned his gaze on Shingo. In his iciest tones, he said, “I believe I told you that _I_ would be team leader for this mission. You agreed to that, yes?” 

Sawatari nodded sullenly. 

“And I believe I told you that you should go on patrol with Yuuya, correct?” 

Sawatari raised his chin. “I’m not the kind of guy who works with a group.” 

“Well, I’m not the ‘kind of guy’ who puts up with insubordination. Or stupidity,” said Reiji. “Consider this your one and only warning: you do something this foolish again and I am putting you on a bus and sending you back to Maiami. I may have to do that anyway. Your father is having a fit.” 

“He’s always doing that,” Sawatari said tiredly. “It’s his ground state of being.” 

“Then I shall ignore him for the time being,” said Reiji. “For the moment, you’re on thin ice. Set your mind towards redeeming yourself. In the meantime...” He went back to looking at the group as a whole. “We will wait for Yuuya and Yuzu to return. After that, I am going to want to meet this Yuugo person you found. Tomorrow, I will make arrangements for some of us, at least, to pay a visit to Mayor Roget. Any questions?” 

Gongenzaka’s hand went up. “Do you want us to go back on patrol?” 

“Not at the moment. I think you’ve done enough damage for one day,” said Reiji. “If you want to make yourselves useful, you can search the internet. See what you can dig up about Roget’s past, the Blue Blur, or about this Wind Witch person. Look for evidence that the Uprising has been active in this part of the world. Dig for rumors.” That should be safe enough, Reiji thought. He doubted they could get into any sort of trouble on the internet that he couldn’t get them out of again. 

_Damage control. It’s much too early in this operation to have to be worrying about damage control._ He resisted the urge to sigh as his team slumped dejectedly off. They were demoralized enough as it is. _Well, there’s no choice but to just deal with it. Let’s just hope nothing else starts going wrong..._

* * *

“...and after the explosion, they both just disappeared,” said Yuzu. She felt drained. Telling the whole story to Yuuya, watching his face for signs that he was understanding what he was telling him, dreading what would happen when it finally clicked, had taken it out of her. 

“That’s a sad story,” said Yuuya. 

“You think so?” It wasn’t the reaction she’d been expecting. 

“Well, yeah,” he said. “I mean, Mr. Akaba lost his daughter, and all Zarc really wanted was to put on a show people would enjoy. I understand that. I don’t think I would ever do what he did, but I know how scary it is to go out in public and not know if people are going to like you or not. He took it too far, but in a way, I know how he felt.” 

Yuzu was not altogether comforted by this point of view. She knew that Yuuya was generally a kindhearted soul who tried to think the best of everybody, but under the circumstances, she wasn’t sure she liked hearing him sympathize with Zarc. 

“I guess,” she said. “But there’s more to the story. A few days ago, a girl came to the office when you weren’t around. She was a psychic, and she did a reading for me in lieu of payment. She went into some kind of trance, and... I’m almost sure the spirit of Akaba Ray spoke to me through her.” 

Yuuya’s eyes went wide. “You talked to a ghost?” 

“Yes. No. Not exactly.” Yuzu took another deep breath and tried to start over. “I don’t think she’s exactly dead, just... changed. What I think happened - what _she_ thinks happened - is that when her power, Zarc’s power, and that machine activated all at the same time, it caused some sort of weird reaction. She and he both split into four pieces - four separate people - four babies that grew up in this world without knowing where they came from.” 

Yuuya frowned. “Four...” His head suddenly went up, eyes wide. “Four identical people... you don’t mean...” 

“I do,” she said. “I think... I’m almost sure... that I’m a part of Ray. And you’re part of Zarc.” 

“That... that’s impossible,” said Yuuya, shaking his head. “I know who my parents are. I can’t have just come out of nowhere.” 

“I know who my father is, too,” said Yuzu, staring down at the table. “That doesn’t mean I can’t also be a part of Ray.” 

That was something she had been trying not to think about. She loved her father, and she knew he adored her. They were a family. That hadn’t stopped her from wondering why she didn’t have a mother. Her father had certainly never spoken of a mother, even in the most oblique fashion, and there were no pictures or mementos of one anywhere in their house. Sometimes she told herself that her mother must have died tragically, and the memory was too painful for her father to cope with. Sometimes she suspected that there had been a divorce, or that she was the product of an affair, but she had never been able to make herself believe that. Her father didn’t seem like the kind who got into casual flings, and if he’d divorced, he still would have wanted his daughter to know where she came from. That being the case, she had wondered, from time to time, if he hadn’t told her because he didn’t know. A lot of children with superpowers were abandoned by parents who couldn’t or wouldn’t deal with a child who was stronger than they were, and Yuzu wouldn’t put it past her generous-hearted father to take in one of those children and raise her as his own. 

_I guess deep down, I always knew something was a little off somewhere..._

But it was different for her. She’d always known, or suspected, or at least wondered if something like this might have been the case. It wasn’t so bad, knowing that her “mother” had been a hero who had tried to stop someone from destroying the world. Yuuya, though... he had grown up knowing who his parents were. He loved them both, and he idolized his father. Even now, you could tell that everything he did was, on some level, for his father. Finding out that he wasn’t actually related to the father he loved - that he was, in fact, created by a villain who had betrayed that father - had to be heartbreaking. 

_But I had to tell him the truth... He couldn’t keep on not knowing. Could he?_

“How long have you known about all this?” Yuuya asked at last. His voice was dull. He might have been reading the question from a script, like a bored tech support person asking if you had tried turning it off and on again. 

“A couple of weeks,” said Yuzu. 

“Anyone else know?” 

“I talked to Gon-chan about it,” Yuzu admitted. “And I think Reiji might know something, or suspect something. I don’t think he misses much.” 

“But you didn’t tell me.” His voice still had that flat quality, but there was something else creeping in around the edges now - anger. “You knew all this time and you weren’t going to tell me.” 

“I didn’t know it was true,” Yuzu protested. “Maybe it isn’t. I mean, this is all just guessing.” 

“You said there were pictures,” said Yuuya. “And you knew about Rin before anyone told you. And there are _three other people_ running around who look exactly like me. What am I supposed to think?” 

Yuzu didn’t have an answer. She stared down at her hands, folded on the tabletop. 

“Nothing was real,” Yuuya murmured, almost inaudibly. “All my life, I’ve gone around thinking I was the son of the Entertainer. I was going to carry on his legacy. All this time, I’ve been worrying about how I was going to do it, whether I could live up to his image, whether I could make him proud.” He gave a bitter laugh. “Turns out, it doesn’t really matter, because I’m not his kid anyway.” 

“Yuuya...” Yuzu reached out a hand, wanting to comfort him, but he pushed it roughly away. 

“Don’t,” he snapped. “Just... don’t.” He sighed and pressed his face into his hands. “I’m sorry. I know this isn’t your fault. I just... I need some space to get my head around this, okay?” 

“We’re here if you need us,” Yuzu said. She felt like someone throwing a gossamer thread to a drowning man. 

“I know,” said Yuuya. “But I think I need to be by myself for a while.” He stood up. “Tell Reiji and the others I’ll be back later.” 

He walked away. Yuzu watched him go, feeling miserable. For all she could tell herself that she’d done the right thing, that he’d needed to know, that none of this was her fault, she still felt like she had done something terrible. Would it have been better if she’d kept all this to herself? Had she just ruined Yuuya’s life just so she could feel honorable? Even if it somehow turned out that this had been a big misunderstanding, Yuuya would go through the rest of his life wondering if maybe this really had been the truth at the bottom of everything. Some part of his innocence, his peace of mind, was gone for good, and she had taken it from him. 

_I wonder if he’s ever going to trust me again..._

* * *

Yuuya had been lying on the roof when he heard the others arrive. Ever since he’d been old enough to summon his first trapeze, his first inclination when he was feeling sad or confused or disappointed or frustrated was to go up as high as possible. Lying on the roof of the headquarters wasn’t entirely satisfactory, but it had been the best he could do in the circumstances. He didn’t even move as he heard the door to the access stairs open. 

“Yuuya?” called a voice. “Are you up here?” 

“Yeah, I’m here,” he said. “Hey, Yuuto. You weren’t doing anything important, were you?” 

“Not really,” said Yuuto. He ambled over and sat down on the flat roof next to Yuuya. “Reiji is displeased with how the morning has gone, so he’s got us all doing internet research. Not my strong suit. So, you said you had someone you wanted me to meet?” 

Yuuya sat up. “Yeah. I texted him a little while ago, and he said he’d be here soon.” He looked around. “Hope he can figure out how to get up on the roof.” 

But he need not have worried. There was already a barely perceptible blue blur rushing over the nearby rooftops. Then, in a brief gust of wind, Yuugo skidded to a stop in front of them. 

“So, this is the place, huh?” he said. “Boy, you could have picked an easier roof to find. I had to hunt all over the place before I found you.” 

Yuuya smiled in spite of himself. “Took you, what, a whole five seconds?” 

“Hey, it feels longer when you’re the one doing it!” Yuugo protested. 

Yuuya didn’t argue. When it came to speed, the supers known as “hyperspeeders” were in a class by themselves. _Super_ speed was a common enough power - one of the most common, along with super strength and the ability to fly. Saying someone had super speed simply meant that they could go faster than the average person could, more or less in the same way that a high-end sports car could go faster than a motor scooter. It generally came down to mechanics: stronger bones and muscles, a more robust circulatory system, keener reflexes. Even when they reached speeds that weren’t normally attainable by people without powers, it was still possible to understand how they did it. Hyperspeeders, though, were something else altogether. The most common theory for how they did what they did was that they were able to somehow phase themselves partway into some other dimension, some place where friction and inertia and similar laws of nature didn’t function the same way, allowing the user to do things that physics normally wouldn’t allow. Time and space probably _did_ feel different to Yuugo while he was using his abilities. 

“This must be the Yuugo your friend was telling us about,” said Yuuto, eyeing Yuugo with interest. “I have to admit, it’s a little uncanny.” 

Yuugo looked from Yuuya to Yuuto and back again. 

“You know,” he said, “I get the funniest feeling I’ve seen you guys somewhere before.” 

Yuuya smiled in spite of himself. Yuugo seemed to have that effect. 

“You know,” he said, “there’s probably a reason for that.” He sobered again almost at once. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you two about. You’d probably better sit down for this.” 

Yuuto and Yuugo sat down across from him, so that they were sitting in a triangle. It felt a bit odd, looking into two faces that were so much like his own, but it was also comforting, in a way. In a very real sense, these two were his family. 

“Okay,” he said,” trying to gather his thoughts, “I was talking to Yuzu a little while ago, and she told me she thinks she knows why the three of us look so much alike...” 

He told the story. He’d been afraid that telling it, saying it out loud, would break him, but when he was done, he found he felt a bit better. Having to explain it to someone else had helped him sort out some of the details in his own mind, turning it from a ghastly shock into... well, just a problem he needed to deal with somehow. 

“So what you’re saying,” said Yuuto at last, “is that you think the three of us, plus whoever was impersonating you back in Maiami, are all fragments of this Zarc person?” 

“It kinda looks like it,” Yuuya admitted. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.” 

“Well, it would explain a few things,” said Yuuto thoughtfully. “Like why I was abandoned as a baby in an alley.” 

“They found me on the side of the road,” said Yuugo. “I used to tell people I could remember being a baby and watching the cars and things whizzing by, until they started telling me it was impossible.” He paused for a beat. “Pretty sure I remember it anyway.” 

“But I wasn’t found anywhere,” said Yuuya. “At least, I don’t think I was. I mean, I had parents. I have a mom and a dad. I have powers just like his, and as far as I know, he and I are the only people to ever have powers just like this. I was always so _sure_ I knew who I was, and now I don’t understand anything.” 

“You’re the same person you always were,” said Yuugo. 

“No, I’m not! I thought I was the son of the city’s greatest hero,” said Yuuya. “Now it turns out, I’ve been living a lie. The only legacy I’ve got to carry on is some freaky villain who tried to split the world into pieces.” He turned an agonized look on the others. “What if my dad knew? What if the reason why he never came back was that he found out somehow that I wasn’t really his kid - that I’m really part of a villain, and he didn’t want to deal with it?” 

Yuuto gave him a look. “Now, you know that’s not true.” 

“But what if it is?” Yuuya wailed. 

“It’s not,” said Yuuto firmly. “You’d realize that if you’d stop working yourself into a panic and start thinking rationally. Do you think, for example, that your father is the sort of person who would just abandon your mother without explanation, even if he found out something unpalatable about you?” 

“No, I guess not,” Yuuya admitted. Granted, he’d been small when his father had vanished, but from what he remembered, his parents had been deeply, even embarrassingly in love. Even if for some reason his father had decided that he simply couldn’t cope with his ersatz son, he would never leave his wife wondering what had become of him. 

“Of course I’m right,” said Yuuto. “And from everything you’ve told me about your father, I can’t imagine that he’s the sort of person to judge someone by their antecedents. If he found a child, lost and in need of care, would it matter to him whether that child’s parents had been villains?” 

“Probably not,” Yuuya admitted. 

“Well, there you have it,” said Yuuto. “If nothing else, Zarc was your father’s friend before he turned bad. I think even if your father knew you were somehow linked to Zarc, he’d have wanted to do his best for you, not just for your own sake, but for the sake of the good that used to exist in Zarc.” 

“Yeah, that’s right,” said Yuugo. “He wasn’t always a bad guy, the way you tell it. We don’t have to be either.” 

“I guess you’re right,” said Yuuya. He was beginning to feel more relaxed. “Thanks, guys. I really needed to hear that.” 

Yuugo grinned. “Hey, what are friends for, right? We’re all in this together.” 

“Not just friends,” said Yuuto. “If what you’re saying is true, we’re basically brothers.” He smiled slightly. “I always wanted brothers. A family.” 

Yuuya smiled. “Well, when I find my dad and bring him home, I’ll bring you two home with me. Mom will be thrilled. She loves taking in strays.” 

“It would be nice to have a family,” agreed Yuugo wistfully. “You really think your parents would like me?” 

“They’ll like you,” said Yuuya. “That’s pretty much what you just got done explaining to me, isn’t it?” 

“I guess it is,” said Yuugo. “Well, how about that?” 

Yuuto appeared to be thinking about something. 

“You know what I remember from when I was small?” he asked the world in general. “I remember being in that dark alley. I remember hearing people moving around - shouting, laughing, blasting music. It was scary for a little kid, and I remember being happy I was in the dark where no one could see me. I’ve never told anyone this before. I always thought I must be imagining things - there’s no way I could remember something that clearly from when I was a baby, or understand the world well enough to have a thought that complex. But now I’m starting to wonder... Yuuya, what’s your earliest memory of your father?” 

“My earliest memory? Wow, that’s hard.” Yuuya closed his eyes and started digging backwards through his memories. His father, bringing him to his first day of school, and all the kids swarming around to meet their hero, with Yuuya proudly saying, “That’s my dad!” No, further back... Yuuya as a little boy, being tucked into bed as his father promised to stay awake and guard him from all the night’s terrors... Further back: Yuuya as a tiny toddler, peering through the mesh of his playpen, laughing as his father did magic tricks to amuse him. Could he go further back? Yes, he could. There was one memory, curiously sharp. He was lying in something - a cradle? A car seat? It must have been a stroller, because he was outside. There were glimpses of sky overhead in his memory. His father was bending over him, smiling and saying, “Hey, little fella. Don’t be afraid. I’ll take care of you...” 

Yuuya’s eyes snapped open. 

“He found me,” he said. “I remember now. He found me when I was a baby and brought me home. I always thought... I don’t know, that I’d been crying in that memory and he was trying to calm me down, but that’s not it. He was finding me and deciding to take care of me.” 

“Not just that, I think,” said Yuuto. “Going by what you said, each of us represent one-quarter of Zarc. My guess is that we came into the world... partially formed, in a way. I think we all took in something of our surroundings to make up the deficit. I woke up in darkness, so my power is that of a shadow-jumper. Yuugo woke up by the side of the road and admired the cars going by, so he gained the power of speed. I’m willing to bet that other one, the one Sawatari said had plant powers, woke up in a park or garden somewhere. And you, Yuuya...” 

“I woke up and saw my dad,” said Yuuya. 

Yuuto nodded. “And that’s how you came to have his powers. You decided in that moment that you wanted to be just like him. And apparently it worked.” 

“Huh,” said Yuuya thoughtfully. “So I guess in a way, I did inherit my powers from him...” 

“You’re his son in every way that matters,” Yuuto assured him. 

“You’re right,” said Yuuya. Then, more firmly, “You’re right. I really shouldn’t be worrying about stuff like that. No matter what, my dad is my dad, and I’m still going to find him.” 

“That’s the spirit!” said Yuugo. 

“And we’re going to help you,” said Yuuto. “After all, we’re not just friends now, we’re practically family. I always did wonder what my family was like.” 

“Me too,” said Yuugo. “Man, is this wild or what? I started today without any brothers, and now I have two.” 

“Three,” said Yuuya. “There’s one more out there, remember? Someone we haven’t met yet.” 

“I’m not sure I want to,” said Yuuto. “Let’s not go assigning him ‘brother’ status until we know if he’s someone we want to associate ourselves with.” 

“Fair enough,” said Yuuya. He stood up. “I guess we should tell Reiji about all this. I mean, he needs to know, doesn’t he?” 

“He probably does,” Yuuto agreed. He stood and helped Yuugo to his feet. “And we need to introduce him to Yuugo, don’t we?” 

“Definitely,” said Yuuya. “Come on, guys. Let’s go talk to the boss.” 

They started downstairs again. Yuuya felt much more cheerful than he had when he’d first gone up. Yuuto and Yuugo were right. What did he have to worry about, with his friends and his new family to help him? Somehow or other, things would work out. 

_Yuzu was wrong. Nothing bad is going to happen to us while we’re together,_ he told himself. _Whatever happened before, I’m just going to have to tell her that Zarc is gone for good._

* * *

Masumi had been exploring Camp Big Top. 

In more ways than she’d expected, it reminded her of the Uprising headquarters. That was no surprise - if Yuushou was to be believed, some of the people here were refugees from the Uprising, and probably hadn’t outgrown the habits. It was also true that the Uprising had prized efficiency, and this place certainly was efficient. That was probably what made Masumi see a resemblance between the two places: everyone here seemed to have a job to do, and everyone was bustling about doing it. The difference was that in the Uprising, everything was regimented. All the people were sectioned off in their own little groups and rarely allowed to interact outside of them. Every minute was scheduled, and woe betide anyone who put a foot out of line! Here, there was a sense of relaxation. Someone who was tired or frustrated could hand a job off to someone else, or ask for someone to come help them. Someone who found themselves with nothing to do could wander over to any activity that appealed to them and ask to join in. Everyone - young, old, male, female, powered or not - all seemed to be working happily together towards their common goals. When Masumi had finished her breakfast and begun wandering around aimlessly, the locals had cheerfully invited her to help them with their chores. 

And so she had spent the morning helping to scrub and hang out the laundry. While she was roaming around, she’d caught sight of Yaiba helping some of the other locals chop wood, and Hokuto had been spirited off to the kitchen to help wash dishes. While they worked, Masumi’s new friends told her a bit about their histories. The motherly woman who seemed to be generally in charge of the laundry was a normal who was still hoping the Resistance could help her free her husband and sons. The boy with the oddly glowing eyes spoke of how he’d been bullied as a child for his odd appearance, and how he’d left the Uprising when he had realized he’d become the thing he hated. A girl spoke of how she’d abandoned her dearest childhood friend because she wouldn’t leave the Uprising. 

_We have to do something about this,_ Masumi thought, as she wrung out wet shirts. When she’d left LDS, the matter of the Uprising had seemed like an academic matter, like a problem set for her by her teachers to solve. She hadn’t thought about it much in terms of the people who were being affected by it. It felt much more real here, where people were trying to recover from what the Uprising had done to them. 

_I don’t think I could go home now, knowing about this. I want to stay here and help._

Once the laundry was finished, Masumi wandered back to the center of town and found Yaiba and Hokuto loitering near the well, chatting with some of the locals. They broke off when they saw her approach. 

“Well, there you are!” said Yaiba, as though she were the one who had been slacking off and he the one who had been lugging heavy baskets of wet laundry to the drying lines. “Sensei’s waiting for us in the big house.” 

“Sensei?” Masumi repeated, puzzled. 

“The ringleader,” Yaiba elaborated. “The boss. The top brass. The big kahuna.” 

“Mr. Sakaki,” said Hokuto. “The locals here call him Sensei. Apparently, when they first started setting up this place, some of the ex-Uprising soldiers were calling him their new Professor, and he didn’t like it, so they compromised on Sensei.” 

Masumi felt that under the circumstances, Yaiba’s appellation of “ringleader” might be the most accurate one, but she supposed it made sense. Perhaps Mr. Sakaki didn’t like thinking of himself as a leader in a place like this. Most of these people had already had enough of being led. 

“Better not keep him waiting, then,” she said. 

They trekked through the little village and up to the building Masumi had tentatively identified the night before as the town hall - the “big house”, as Yaiba had put it. And that was basically what it was: a large, open building with a firepit in the center, something like the illustrations Masumi had seen of Nordic longhouses. She guessed that when the camp had first been built, this had served as a sort of communal living space. Some efforts had been made with furnishings and partitions to turn it into something more than a box with windows, but it was easy to see where the new bits had been tacked on, and to guess what shape it had originally been. At the moment, Mr. Sakaki was sitting at a table with two other people, apparently settling a dispute over something-or-other. Even as Masumi watched, the three of them seemed to come to some agreement, and everyone shook hands and left the table. 

As he stood up, Mr. Sakaki caught sight of his guests and smiled at them. 

“Ahh, good morning,” he said. “Settling in well, I hope?” 

“Very well,” Masumi agreed. 

Yaiba grinned. “Yeah, this is a pretty sweet setup you’ve got here.” 

Mr. Sakaki laughed. “It is rather nice, isn’t it? We’ve managed to do a lot here in a short amount of time, though I can’t take much credit for that. Most of the real work was done by the recruits.” 

_The_ recruits, Masumi noted, not _my_ recruits. 

“You said you were going to tell us more about this place today?” Hokuto said. 

Mr. Sakaki sobered. “Yes, I suppose I was. Well, come into my office and I’ll make us a cup of tea.” 

“You have tea here?” asked Hokuto, and Masumi had to smile. Like so many foretellers, he had developed a taste for the stuff that bordered on addiction, and had clearly not been looking forward to dwelling in a wilderness where he couldn’t get a nice cup of English breakfast. 

Mr. Sakaki smiled. “We can get most things here, if perhaps not in the quantities we’d like. Don’t waste it.” 

Hokuto nodded eagerly. “I won’t, I won’t!” 

The “office” turned out to be little more than a partitioned-off space with a desk, a few chairs, a wobbly shelf, and some rudimentary equipment for tea-making. Masumi took a seat in one of the chairs and watched him fill a set of mismatched mugs, thinking, _The greatest hero of Maiami City is making me tea._ It was an unreal sensation. 

It was good tea, though. She sipped at it quietly while she watched the great man gather his thoughts. 

“So, where should I begin?” he murmured. “It’s hard to know where to start.” 

“Start with what happened when you disappeared,” said Masumi. 

Yuushou grimaced a bit. “Well, I suppose that is the logical place, but it isn’t a very comfortable memory. All right. Ten years ago, I was in the park playing with my son when a masked man abducted my boy right from under my nose. I chased him, we fought, there was an explosion, and when my vision had cleared, I was in the Dark Side. There wasn’t really an Uprising there yet, just Leo and his machines and a few helpers he’d recruited from his old lab. We argued. His real target had been my son, he told me, and he offered to send me home if I would agree to let him carry out his plan unimpeded. Naturally, I refused. He decided that I should be imprisoned for a while - to give me time to come to my senses, he said. So I stayed in a cell for... I’m not even sure how long. He wasn’t an unkind jailer, Leo - we had been friends, after all, and he genuinely saw himself as the hero of the piece. He was saving the world, and I was getting in his way. After his first plan failed, though, he decided that the disappearance of The Entertainer had made things too hot for him in Maiami City, and he settled down to think of a new, more subtle plan. That was when he began gathering his first recruits - the beginning of the Uprising. With their help, he was able to build a more extensive compound, which is how I ended up being able to escape. He tried to move me to a new, more secure cell he’d built for me, and during the moving process I was able to escape his guards, steal one of his portal guns, and escape to the Edge. Once I was here, I started experimenting with making portals and learned how to move from world to world. I foraged food and materials, I watched people’s movements, I started gathering recruits of my own, and, well... you know the rest.” He waved a hand. “Anyway, that’s the past. What’s more important, I think, is what we’re trying to do now.” 

“What _are_ you trying to do now?” Hokuto asked. “I mean, you’re just trying to stop the Uprising, aren’t you?” 

“Not exactly,” said Yuushou, with the air of a man choosing his words with care. “You see, there’s a reason why Leo felt he needed to take my son from me. The Uprising originally existed as a means to correct what he saw as a greater problem.” Yuushou sighed. “Unfortunately, he’s not entirely wrong. He and I may have different ideas of how to approach the problem, but both of us agree that something needs to be done. In fact, he and I have been working together for the last several years, exchanging what information we have on the problem. His advice has been invaluable on improving our technology here.” 

Masumi felt her jaw drop. “You’re getting advice from him? But why? How can you trust him?” 

Yuushou smiled, in the manner of a man about to deliver a punch line. “I trust him because he’s one of my oldest and dearest friends, and because we both want to protect the world and our children. In many ways, he’s the most valuable ally I have right now.” 

“But he’s the leader of the Uprising!” Hokuto exploded. “He’s gathering an army! He’s kidnapping people and forcing them into slavery! He kidnapped _us_!” 

“No, I don’t think so,” said Yuushou. “I’m pretty sure you’ve never met Akaba Leo.” 

“But we did!” Yaiba insisted. “He came and talked at us when we first got captured! He gave us all this baloney about how he’s going to make the world a better place by putting everyone in boxes or something stupid like that.” 

Yuushou shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.” 

Masumi’s eyes narrowed. She sensed a curveball coming her way, and whatever it was, she would have bet money it was going to be a doozy. 

“Why don’t you think so?” she asked. 

He smiled. “Because Leo has been locked in a maximum-security cell for the past few years. The man you met was a shapeshifter named Dennis MacField.”


End file.
